


family over everything

by cherryhibiscus



Category: Ever After High, Ever After High Series - Shannon Hale
Genre: Arguing, Drama, F/F, F/M, High School, Homophobia, I’ll put notes at the beginning for TW when needed, LGBTQ Characters, OC characters, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Swearing, TW!!Violence, bad humour, dysfunctional family tbh, established wolf dancer, messy sibling relationship, romance isn’t key idea tbh, slow burn? darise, there might be ooc it’s for the plot, updates aren’t scheduled but i will complete this fic i promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:22:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 35,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25995166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherryhibiscus/pseuds/cherryhibiscus
Summary: Cerise only wished for her sister back. Someone who knew exactly what she was going through, who she could talk to. That was all she ever asked for.But with the return of Ramona, came so many more problems. Her sister is secretive and won’t share anything about her life, Headmaster Grimm is bringing back the Storybook of Legends for his own gain, and the opposing team for the Bookball Championship has proven to be dangerous in more ways than one.With every aspect of her family on the line, it’s up to Cerise if she’s willing to fight for them.
Relationships: Briar Beauty/Faybelle Thorn (mentioned), Daring Charming/Cerise Hood, Darling Charming/Apple White (mentioned), Ramona Badwolf/Justine Dancer
Comments: 55
Kudos: 116





	1. breathe

**Author's Note:**

> one day I woke up at 2am and thought “Mattel did my girls so dirty.. IM GONNA WRITE A FANFIC”

Two years.

It had been two years since Cerise last saw her older sister, Ramona. She had to wait two entire years before her father gave her the news that Ramona decided to transfer back to Ever After High for their third year instead of completing the rest of her high school education at her other school. It excited her, of course. Ramona was really the only one she could complain to and would actually understand her.

To the rest of Cerise’s school, Ramona had gotten suspended and sent away to some Dark Forest reformatory, but to their family, the sisters had some silly little argument in freshman year that caused Ramona to ask their father to send her to a different boarding school where she’d “never have to see Cerise’s stupid face again.”

Fortunately, the quarrel between them didn’t stick. Over the holiday breaks when they went home, they started talking again, and soon, it was decided they’d agree to disagree. It was an accomplishment in their household, really. Arguments have ended uglier.

However, even after all of the talking they did in person or through text, Cerise never knew what school Ramona went to. In truth, she never asked her, but thinking about it now? Ramona would never have answered. Screw Ramona and her ability to dodge questions so smoothly. 

* * *

The day of Ramona’s arrival wasn’t supposed to be easy, but in Cerise’s most simplest terms, it was _living hell._ If they weren’t throwing insults, they were giving each other dirty looks, and if not that, people asked them stupid questions like “ _Are you gonna fight her?”_ or _“Are you going to insult her the next time you see her?”_

Secret or no secret, they both said yes to either question in a heartbeat. Cerise believed the only reason their act was convincing was because the hatred they shared as enemies was only a disguise to hide the loathing they shared as _siblings._ They do love each other, but there’s always going to be a little spark of hate.

But let bygones be bygones. She only asked to reconnect with Ramona, for Grimm’s sake! Therefore, when Saturday afternoon arrived and Justine left for dance practice, Cerise made it her cue to sneak over to Ramona’s room and enter “unannounced.” Ramona always knew when Cerise was coming, it’s impossible to sneak up on her. 

The door swung upon and a disgruntled Ramona stood in the door’s place. Cerise held up her basket and offered a polite smile.

“I brought dinner.”

Ramona’s face lit up in an instant, snatching the basket and then shutting the door in an instant. Cerise gasped and she could hear Ramona cackle behind the door.

“A thank you would’ve been nice!” Cerise growled.

Ramona opened the door again and chuckled, crossing her arms smugly as she stared at her frustrated sister.

“Don’t be a baby, Red. I was just messing with you. Get in, already.”

Cerise walked in and was immediately distracted by the decor of the room. Justine’s was far more vibrant, a mix of gold and yellow-like colours, but Cerise was comforted by Ramona’s room too easily. The oak surrounding her side reminded her of the forest, the stone beneath her feet reminded her of when she went out for runs. But the candles, the dreamcatchers that hung over Ramona’s bed, they reminded her of..

“Home,” Cerise muttered as she sat on Ramona’s bedside.

“Hmm?” Ramona asked as she helped herself to the chicken in the basket.

“Your room’s just cozy, I guess.”

Cerise cleared her throat and changed the subject. The less she felt homesick, the better.

“Sorry I didn’t come sooner, thronework and bookball don’t really leave you much time left in the day,” She apologized as she removed her cloak and set it aside.

“Oh, like I was waiting for you all week. Enough about that. Tell me about how you’re not a loser anymore or something,” Ramona scoffed.

“Shut up!” Cerise playfully tossed a pillow at Ramona, which smacked her sister on the side of her head as she howled in laughter.

“You’re so lucky I don’t feel like punching you back! Just tell me about bookball before I fall asleep!”

“Well, I almost got to be elected Captain, but then I found out the Charmings would sue me if I replaced their precious son, so the co-captain position will have to do. Playoffs are this spring, and since Ever After High hasn’t won Championship in like, 10 years, Daring and I spent all week discussing plays and-”

Cerise was startled by the sound of Ramona loudly choking. Normally, she’d be worried, but it’s the way Ramona’s body language indicated she was trying to hold back a fit of laughter instead. She already knew what was coming.

“You and _Charming?_ ” She snorted. “You’re dating, aren’t you?”

“Gross, Mona. We’re colleagues. I would never!”  
  


“Oh, silly me then. You’d never have the guts to ask him out, right?” She teased.

“You’re a bully, you know that?”  
“That’s kinda been my thing, hasn’t it, Red?”

Cerise rolled her eyes and made her way to the door. The sun was about to set, meaning she needed to get back to her dorm so she wouldn’t worry Cedar, her roommate once again, or risk Justine returning with her still here.

“Mona?” She called out before leaving.

“What?”

“I just wanted to ask,” She took a deep breath as she made her way to unsafe territory. “What school did you go to when you left?”  
  


Silence. _Bad_ silence. Ramona’s always snappy when answering back, so if she doesn’t answer in the first three seconds of the question being asked, it means Cerise won’t get a direct answer.

“You should get some sleep if you wanna beat me for that race Sunday night.”

_There it was._ Before, Cerise used to tell herself _“It was worth a shot.”_ But someday she stopped. It was never really worth the effort anymore.

“Night, Mona,” Cerise said somberly.

“Night.”

Cerise shut the door behind her, then glanced down the hall. Justine was walking back to her dorm room with Farrah, so Cerise quickly hid herself in the shadows, going back to her dorm unnoticed.

When she arrived at her dorm, Cedar had been doing an art piece, and thankfully, didn’t ask Cerise where she had been. Cerise proceeded to get ready for bed, when she was startled by the sound of multiple howls outside of the school. Cerise and Cedar’s window overlooked a forest, therefore to Cerise, it had been no more than just wolves out on a hunt.

“Woah!” Cedar gasped, nearly dropping her piece. “What was that?”

“A pack out in the forest,” Cerise answered quickly, staring out the window. “Nothing troubling.” 

But even if it was just that, something about it felt… off. As if the howls were a warning. It disconcerted Cerise for reasons she wasn’t sure why. 

She didn’t sleep that night.


	2. effort

“How the hex does Coach expect us to make a plan? We don’t even know who we're going up against!” Sparrow asked.

Months afterwards, Ever After High had gone undefeated and would be competing for the Championship in their own field. The problem at hand was that Coach Gingerbreadman had never told his players _who_ was going to verse them in the game. They were simply instructed to _“come up with a strategy and bring it to me at the end of the week.”_

“Well,” Daring smirked, pulling his varsity jacket confidently. “I wouldn’t worry too much. Have Cerise zip around the field and the Championship is ours for the taking. Of course, with your permission m'lady?”

The boys seemed to agree with Daring and Cerise caught herself giggling. She had gotten used to this once she became a member of the team. The team mostly had Cerise use her speed to their advantage (which she enjoyed, using her speed at any given opportunity was fun), but they had their respect for her and always asked permission beforehand, which she was grateful for.

“Sure, Daring,” She agreed, a small smile on her face. “It’s okay with me.”

Practice was nothing more than simple tossing just to pass the time, since Dexter and Hopper refused to play a real game with the others. That was until Sparrow thought it would be hilarious to purposely throw the ball across the field, landing somewhere into an alleyway.

“Go on, Flash,” Sparrow ordered. “You’re the speedster of the group, right? Get the ball back.”

“Sparrow! Don’t treat her like a puppy.” Dexter chided.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Cerise motioned as if she was brushing it off. “I’ll go get the ball back.”

For the record, _it was not fine. Cerise was going to kill Sparrow in his sleep if he tried making her chase the ball again._ Instead of berating him on the spot for his antics, she simply left the boys and searched for the ball. It had to be somewhere around here, right? She looked around her surroundings, but there was no sign of it.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a group of tall males who had been hanging out in one of the darkest alleys around the building. One of the boys had the bookball in hand. They simultaneously caught Cerise staring and turned to face her. That’s when Cerise noticed their appearance. Their bulky builds, the gleam of their teeth, and how they all bore matching wolf ears.

Someone that had caught her attention first was the boy with the bookball, who had now approached the light and revealed himself fully. Compared to his friends, he was not the toughest, but something about his amber eyes and smirk intimidated her, and she was sure that that was his intention. He _wanted_ to scare her.

“You a Hood, ain’t you? Ain’t meet one before,” He held up the ball. “Looking for this?”  
“Pass it back,” She ordered. “I’m not looking for trouble.”

He pretended to look taken aback, and started laughing. 

“I heard about Hood Hollow, where you guys think you can treat the Wolfs like they're house dogs. It doesn’t work with us, Hood. You don’t get to order us around.”

Cerise let out a growl accidentally. She was lucky that she hadn’t made an entire outburst, or her change of eye colour would’ve given herself away instantly. The amber-eyed boy rolled his eyes and threw the ball back into Cerise’s arms.

“Take your stupid ball back and get lost, I don’t play fetch with _girls_ .”

Cerise ignored his hurtful words and stomped off, but she stopped walking when she realized that she had been shaking. _Wolves._ They were _wolves,_ and yet Cerise couldn’t recognize a single one. The alley might’ve been dark, but darkness doesn’t cover scent, and none of their scents were familiar. They were wolves, but not from Ever After.

As Cerise started to walk again, she saw Ramona underneath the bleachers, who watched the boys shove each other on the ground. Ramona’s eyes kept darting around the group, as if she was looking for someone in particular. Her sister, most likely.

Good, Cerise needed to talk to her anyway. Cerise hoisted the bookball over her shoulder and threw it overhead, and the ball fell not too far from Hunter, who eagerly picked it up. 

The sudden arrival of the ball made Ramona turn her head to meet Cerise, and Cerise snuck in to meet her sister under the bleachers.

“Looking for me?” Cerise asked.

“Something like that. Figured you’d be out here.”  
“Yeah, until Sparrow decided to make me chase the ball like some dog.”

“He did _what?_ ” Ramona snarled.

Ramona’s abrupt change into being a protective sister made Cerise laugh.

“Don’t worry, it’s whatever now. Hey, I wanted to tell you how I saw something..Weird.”  
“Yeah? How weird?”

“This group of dudes, and not random ones. They were wolves, Ramona,” Her tone fell to a whisper. “Just like us. But, they’re not from Hood Hollow. In fact, I don’t even think they’re from Ever After.”

Cerise caught the moment Ramona’s expression went from calm to disturbed. Ramona bit her lip nervously, and was that.. _Fear_ in her eyes? She appeared to look guilty of something, but Cerise knew that no matter how serious it was, Ramona wouldn’t admit to it anytime soon. It left Cerise suspicious.

“Ignore them,” Ramona finally broke their silence. “They didn’t bother you too much, right?”

“They teased me for being a girl who plays bookball, that’s all.”

There’s an unintelligible mutter from her sister, too low to understand, before Ramona cleared her throat and followed with “They’re dumb, then. Anyways, got to go. See ya, Red.”

Cerise didn’t get half a chance to respond once Ramona sped off. _There goes Ramona with all of her secrets._ Ramona was hiding something, and Cerise could easily bet that it was something important. She exasperatedly sighed and made her way back to the field. She supposed she could worry about Ramona later.

“Hey, Cerise. We’re just talking about the Championship,” Dexter said.

“Anything of interest?” She asked.

“Only that we’ll win in our sleep. How good can that team really be? _We_ have Cerise!” Daring bragged with hearty laughter.

Footsteps rang in Cerise’s ears, and when she turned around, seven boys stood in front of her team, and to her horror, it had been the same boys from the alley, and she now noticed their matching varsity jackets with the branded name of _DOLPHUS ACADEMY_ over their front and back pieces.

They weren’t just any group of boys, this was Ever After High’s last opposing team for the Championship.


	3. intensity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: violence

“So this is the famous Ever After High bookball team? This is our competition?” The dark haired boy laughed. “Oh, this is going to be like hunting a mouse.”

“You take that back!” Daring ordered, standing in front of his team.

“Damn,” Another boy commented, ignoring Daring. “I thought this was supposed to be a challenge, but they’re lacking so bad they needed to bring in a girl!”

Cerise felt another growl rise in her throat again, irritated by that comment, and a terrifying snarl bellowed out onto the field, but that wasn’t hers. No, Cerise was never that loud when she was angry. Cerise looked over towards the entrance and saw Ramona approaching the opposing team. Oh hex, something was gonna get blown down.

Everyone was silent as Ramona’s eyes flashed a threatening gold. She grabbed the boy who made the derogatory comment by his shirt collar.

“Watch your fucking mouth before I rip your tongue out, Lance,” She warned.

Cerise stared at her sister in surprise when she heard her refer to one of the boys by _his name._ Did.. did she know these people?

Ramona shoved him to the floor and everyone winced as his back hit the hard ground first. He didn’t seem badly hurt, but he was easily terrified by his unexpected fall and yelped in what was both surprise and pain. Ramona didn’t spare him a second glance and walked over to the wolves, fury blazing in her eyes. Within that moment, Cerise realized that that anger was from something _familiar._ She _knows_ who they are.

Ramona stood face to face with the captain, his teammates all cowering right behind him, but the dark haired boy stood there proudly with a smirk on his face.

“Well, well, well,” He started. “If it isn’t Baby Badwolf. It’s been a bit, hasn’t it Ramona? Just thought we’d stop by to say hello.”

“Cut the crap, Leo,” She spat. “I know why you’re here.”

“To kick these losers asses?” He gestured to the EAH team, and Daring might as well have attacked him on the spot if Hunter wasn’t holding him back.

_Leo,_ Cerise now knew his name, ignored Daring’s visible anger and sourly made a comment under his breath that Cerise barely overheard.

“Y’know, the more I get familiar with this territory, the more I ask myself why you left. What do you see in these wannabe cool kids, Mona? What does this place have that Dolphus didn’t have tenfold? You had real friends, you were popular, you made your dad proud with the way you represented your pack. But here..”

He fell silent when he turned to glimpse over Cerise, and it almost appeared as if he pitied her. When their eyes met, Cerise tried to look brave, but that shiver from her spine overpowered her. His confidence made him intimidating and almost scary. His self-assurance practically made Cerise envious.

“You know damn well why I left. _You_ were the fucking reason,” Ramona snarled.

“Ah, my apologies. I didn’t know you had so little options afterwards that you were desperate enough to come back for Hood-”

Ramona interrupted him and slammed Leo’s body to the ground, mercilessly punching and clawing at him, beating him senseless. Shortly, Daring and Hunter ran to pull Ramona away from him. When Leo shot up from the ground, a big dark bruise formed on his eye and cheek, and Cerise shuddered at the large gash of blood across his lip.

Once they had pulled Ramona from off the ground, she shoved their hands off of her and left in a rush. Leo, meanwhile, threw a child tantrum from where Ramona left him, his teammates shaking their heads disapprovingly.

“You deserved it man,” A deep voice grumbled.

“The hell you say, Timber?” Leo growled.

Timber only rolled his eyes and invited his friends to join him as he made his way to confront the others, who all had different expressions on their faces.

“Sorry about Leo and Lance, they’re both idiots,” Timber apologized.

“Yeah, we noticed,” Daring muttered.

“Hey, don’t let them get to you. They’re both built like pups. Also, Hood,”

Cerise’s focus sharpened as she looked up at the boys, who all met her with genuine looks of guilt in their moods.

“Whatever Leo and Lance said, we don’t agree with that shit. We should’ve said something earlier, but they’re still our pack, y’know? We think girls playing sports is cool as hell and if Leo wasn’t captain, we’d put girls on our team for sure.” Timber said remorsefully.

“What does Leo being captain have to do with it?” Dexter asked.

The wolf boys all looked at him like the answer was obvious, and one of them chuckled before he answered.

“Doesn’t the captain make all of the decisions?”

“Yeah, but choosing who should be a member of the team is more of a.. _Team thing?_ ”

“Well, hot damn,” A blond boy muttered. “I mean, we kinda grow up where the leader makes all of the decisions without others opinions, so those morals apply to sport captains. Leo’s our captain and he thinks girls shouldn’t play sports.”

“Oh, we’ve had that problem before, trust me,” Cerise jeered.

“I am a changed man, and I admit I was wrong for that,” Daring whispered to her.

“So he really turns down girls who try out for bookball just because of their gender?” Dexter added quickly.

“Oh, he’s also the captain of the basketball, soccer, baseball, hockey.. Oh my god, no wonder why all the girls hate him,” A short boy muttered. “They’ve NEVER been able to play on a school team because of him. No wonder Ramona was so excited to leave.”

Cerise’s expression stopped dead in horror and proceeded to cringed. Oh, for Grimm’s sake, here comes the wave of questions.

“Ramona went to your school?” Daring started.

“Uh, yeah? How do you think she knows our names?”

“Aren’t you guys like.. Her pack friends?”

“What? Are you kidding? Our packs have hardly met, if we didn’t go to high school together, none of us would know there were other packs in the world to begin with.”

“Dude, where the hex is your school from?” Sparrow’s eyebrow rose.

“Opposite side of the _fucking_ world, I swear.” One of them said which Timber shoved them for.

“Not on the opposite side of the world, stupid. Four and a half hours by plane. North of here, our school is near Lake Atohi.”

“Lake.. uh, we’ve.. Never heard of that.” Hunter muttered.

“Of course you haven’t. The idea _is_ that you shouldn’t know about that place because it isn’t meant for you. We want our privacy like that.”

There could’ve been more conversation towards that, even Cerise had grown interested, but Leo chose to stop the discussion by yelling at his team.

“Are you just gonna stand there and give them a 4 hour speech about our school or are you gonna hurry the hell back to the hotel for dinner?!”

The group of wolves sighed in annoyance. “Yeah, we should get back now,” Timber acknowledged. “Catch you at the game.”

The Ever After High students were left dumbfounded as the Dolphus boys left to go listen to their two idiots whine like brats as they boarded their bus. Once they were out of sight, Daring pouted in thought and then turned to Cerise.

“I thought you got Ramona suspended?”

Cerise was a liar, but not a professional one, not yet, at least. It always took her a few seconds to think of something reasonable to use. She hadn’t practiced on how to lie very well because she only spoke when spoken to, and she was rarely met with being accused of something she needed to lie for.

“I never got her suspended, first of all,” She said honestly. “We hardly spoke in freshman year anyway. How could I get her suspended if I barely knew her?”

It wasn’t _totally_ a lie, she got her point across regardless, and they seemed to believe her pretty easily. After all, why would a hero be so interested in their villain’s life? Well, Apple White was a visual example, but there was an entirely different story for that.

They all decided to go back to their dorms, but Cerise lingered around the school for a while longer, and once it had started to get late, Cerise finally made her way to Ramona’s room in hopes Justine would be off elsewhere.

It was time they had a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so if you’ve ever seen or even been to Fairmont Château on the shore of Lake Louise, you might be able to grasp the idea of what I have in mind for Dolphus Academy’s location. Mountains and large forests, with a large building amongst it all. it’s remote and I think that kind of habitat would be good for them.


	4. secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: homophobia

Fortunately, Justine was off with Duchess to rehearse, but Ramona was still in her room, almost seeming dazed when she opened the door for her sister. If the look of irritation on Cerise’s face wasn’t enough to paint a picture for Ramona, surely the sound of her stomping into her room must’ve done so.

Cerise stood over her bed as Ramona sat and filed her claws, unbothered by her sister’s furious energy surrounding the room. It’s dead silent, both of them waiting for the other to say something first. Ramona might’ve shifted her attention from her nails to Cerise between moments, but Cerise kept her glare on Ramona directly.

“Were you _ever_ going to tell me that you went to a school that was completely different than what everyone else believed?” Cerise finally asked. Ramona slightly looked up, but practically ignored her in favor of her nails.

“I didn’t see why it mattered,” Ramona replied.

“Damn, let me see, maybe because I’m your _sister?!_ ”

“My business is really not for you, Red.”

“You don’t get to call me nicknames right now, Ramona.”

An exasperated sigh came out of Ramona’s mouth before she hissed, “Why is this such a big deal to you?!”

“Literally having zero context about your life gets _me_ in trouble! I shouldn’t be having to clean up your mess!” Cerise argued.

“Oh my Grimm!” Ramona’s eyes flashed gold, standing up to face Cerise.

“Again with this _‘what about me’_ bullshit! Maybe if you didn’t make everything about you and your feelings and just decided to _shut the fuck up,_ I would’ve never asked Dad to get me away from you!”

“At least I _have_ feelings!” Cerise spat back. “Maybe if _you_ weren’t so fucking protective of your personal life and actually learned how to _have a heart,_ I wouldn’t give a shit about your business! Too bad you enjoy having _no friends!_ ”

The room fell speechless, and the insulted look on Ramona’s face as her eyes changed back to her gray color told Cerise that she said something that had actually hurt her. Cerise had never done something like that before, and up until now, she didn’t think that was _ever_ possible.

Ramona bit her lip and pointed to the door, and Cerise’s gasp was silent, gone unheard, which she was slightly grateful for because there was a sense of pain in it, and she didn’t want Ramona to hear it as well.

“Get the _fuck_ out of my room,” Ramona ordered brittly.

“Wait, no, I-”  
“I said,” Ramona interrupted her, her eyes shut. “Get _out_.”

Cerise didn’t try again. If Ramona doesn’t want her around then so be it. Cerise walked quickly to the door and slammed it shut, but just before leaving, she pressed her ear closely to the door, expecting a sound, _any_ sound, but not even a pin dropped when she left.

Cerise walked away, pulling her hood down as far as she could. She couldn’t let herself be seen after an incident like that. She couldn’t let herself be seen when she felt like she had her life destroyed.

* * *

Around noon the next morning, Headmaster Grimm announced that he’d like all of the third year students to go to the auditorium following the end of classes. There were whispers about what he might’ve wanted them for, but no one had a concrete idea in mind, so the answer would reveal itself.

Once the final bell rang, the students slowly assembled, Cerise having sat beside Cedar and Raven, with Maddie tagging along right behind them. They talked as if nothing had been going on, but once the faculty started lining up on stage, Cerise’s fight or flight kicked in, and she could feel her heart drop when she saw her father.

“Don’t worry, Cerise,” Maddie said. ‘I’m sure it’s nothing.”  
“Huh?” Was the only thing Cerise said.

“The Narrator said that you’re feeling a little scared, so try not to think about it! Like, when I’m worried, I like to think about something less scary and more puzzling. Like, mixing good tea flavors to get a funny taste. If they’re all amazing, why does the flavor come out as.. How do you say.. not just right! It puzzles me how-”

 _“Students,”_ Headmaster Grimm’s voice boomed through the auditorium, frightening Cerise, her ears a bit sensitive to such a large echo. “Good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon, Headmaster Grimm,” The students replied monotonously.

“Thank you all for arriving on such short notice,” He started. “I had to bring this decision upfront as quickly as I could, unless I needed rumors flying.”

Eyes went to Blondie instantly, who smiled as if she was appreciating an adoring crowd. The girl had no issue with drama, she knew everything, and would post about it whether it was good or bad. She had no problems with getting involved in other’s business. Ha, color Cerise jealous.

“As you all know, a year ago, Ever After High had a very, _very,_ large scandal at one of our most important events at our school,” This time he looked at Raven as he spoke. “And for a while, I fought against it and even left the idea alone for a bit. Recently, however..”

“..I discovered the troubling news that more and more dishonor is being brought to your families legacies. Particularly, homosexual relationships.”

Everyone knew who he meant directly, which was the new relationship blossoming between Apple and Darling, who had gotten together not long after Dragon Games but then officially after Daring became the Beast in Rosabella’s story. However, this could apply to Briar and Faybelle, dating around the same time, or even Alistair and Chase, who had been a thing since who knows how long.

“Now,” Milton chuckled softly. “I never mean for everyone to follow their destiny to the smallest detail, things can be changed of course, but..” He laughed again. “A relationship between two women? Two men? Unbelievable.”

Raven stood up immediately, surprising no one, and for once, everyone agreed on Raven’s idea to rebel against Grimm. “Now hold on!” She yelled.

“That’s just _rude!_ Love is meant for everyone! I know you’re mad about some of us not wanting to follow our destinies but to be mad at who we _love?_ You’re the one being unbelievable!”

Grimm simply dusted his pin in annoyance. “Raven, have the common sense that there would be no way to conceive a child in order to follow their destiny.”

“Adoption is a thing! And recently, they’ve been implementing the Maternity Mages who-”

“As if their magic is trustworthy, they’re all just old women with spare time on their hands. And adoption? Do you know how much of a risk that is for the Storybook of Legends? The child could end up storyless.”

“But-”

“Enough. Sit down. I said I was here to make an announcement.”

Raven defeatedly sat back down.

“Therefore, following the approval of several of your parents and guardians, which would equal 72% of the entire third-year community, it is official to say that we will be reinstating Legacy Day following all of the conditions and more.”

“WHAT?!” All of the students yelled.

Cerise’s head was spinning. No, no, no. This could not be happening. She was lucky to not get called on during the first Legacy Day, but to do it again?! Cerise noticed how beaten the other faculty looked, her father amongst them, looking the worst of them all, as if they had tried to stop Grimm unsuccessfully. Surely they knew this idea was absurd.

“You can’t do that!” Cedar said.

“And yet I am. I will also have many updated rules for the event but that,” He shot a disturbed look at some of the faculty, as if he needed to avoid them. “Will be sent through the mail directly to your dormitories. Updates will officially be posted this week, have a nice day everyone.”

He didn’t stop to take any questions, or seem fazed by the sound of incoherent yelling from his students, but simply walked off with the largest smile on his face that even made Cerise queasy. He was worse than the Evil Queen, _far_ worse. When the faculty followed Grimm off stage, some of the students already were quick to leave, but others, like Cerise, still sat in their seats, needing a minute to process it all.

“Cerise, are you okay?” Raven asked.

“Not really,” Cerise muttered. “But what about you?”

“I.. I have to go. I need a minute. We’ll talk later,” Raven stood up and walked out of the auditorium.

Cerise knew she wouldn’t do much thinking here, so she left in search of the only place she knew she could. She was grateful that Grimm at least made the announcement when classes were over, it was easier to get to Dad’s classroom that way. She peaked inside the small window, her father was there!

She opened the door immediately, a smile on her face for once today, happy to see her dad.

“Dad, I-”

That smile faded nearly the second it came once she spotted Ramona in the same room. She glared at Ramona with as much irritation that Ramona had for her. It clearly wasn’t going to take Badwolf more than it already was for him to notice something had happened.

“Care to explain?” He asked.

“Cerise called me heartless,” Ramona started.

“Ramona called me overemotional,” Cerise rolled her eyes.

“Ah, not this again..” He grumbled. 

He grabbed Ramona by the shoulder and shoved her towards Cerise so the sisters would stand face to face. Cerise instantly looked away and Ramona crossed her arms. Badwolf took a chair and sat between them.

“Now, let’s start with you,” He looked at Ramona. “Why did you call your sister overemotional?”

“Because she is! She always talks about her feelings like it’s the most important thing in the world and never gets the hint that I don’t care!” Ramona explained.

He turned to Cerise. “And why is your sister heartless to you?”

“To me?” She scoffed. “More like everybody! I get she has to be a villain but it wouldn’t kill to be nice to like _three people_ and make friends so that way she doesn’t have to be so protective of her personal life!”

Their father paused in thought, his attention shifting between Cerise and Ramona. He then grabbed a notepad and jotted down some words before tearing two pages off and handing one to either sister. Cerise awkwardly grabbed hold of hers and silently read.

_I know sometimes Ramona can be a little mean, sometimes doing it for her image or just because you’re her sister. She might not always show it, but you and I both know Ramona is very loving and protective of her family, and you especially. Your sister’s life really changed when she was away from home and she needs to get comfortable again living in Ever After._

_I’m diagnosing you with not putting yourself in her shoes and the medication is to give her a hug and say you’re sorry :) You better do it, Dad’s watching_

Cerise looked up at her dad first, who gave Cerise an approving nod. Her gaze slowly moved to Ramona, who had finished reading hers as well. Cerise fiddled with her note and Ramona decided to speak first.

“I didn’t mean to call you emotional,” She shrugged. “I didn’t know you just wanted to bond with me. I guess I’ve just been away so long that.. I forgot that you and I could trust each other.”

“I shouldn’t have called you heartless, not when I know you do care about us. I should’ve reminded myself that you’ve gone through a lot of change and could use some space.”

Ramona showed a soft smile and held out her arms.

“I’ll try and talk to you more about stuff,” She said.

“I’ll do my best not to cross a line anymore,” Cerise promised.

They tightly hugged each other, Cerise feeling like a new person. Arguments had always been scary for her, and getting them resolved had felt underwhelming, but this time was incredibly different. For once, she was pleased with how they settled things. She finally felt heard and she hoped her sister felt the same way. She missed her sister, and the last thing she wanted was to argue.

“Attagirls, c’mere! Give your pops a hug, too!”

Howls of laughter filled the room as Badwolf stole his girls into a tight hug. The hug might not have been complete, but Cerise certainly felt more at home in Dad’s embrace. They all stayed like that, almost forgetting the reason Ramona and Cerise came to see their father in the first place.

“It’s totally possible to kill Grimm without getting caught, right?” Ramona asked.

“ _Ramona,”_ Her sister and father grumbled.

“Oh, come on. No one would miss the old grump anyway.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk if the maternity mages exist in other stories, but in mine, the maternity mages are basically old women who give families children using magical resources (applies to LGBTQ+ families, those with infertility, polygamous families, etc) in the parents image, so it genuinely seems like the baby was conceived. the baby is always born healthy and strong. it’s actually been super helpful but Grimm hates it lmao


	5. ephemeral

_“Cerise! Ramona!” Red shouted from downstairs._

_Two small children nearly tumbled down the stairs to answer their mother’s call, rushing excitedly into the living room where their parents waited patiently. Cerise noticed how Mom and Dad held hands yet didn’t seem.. Happy. That’s strange, she thought. Mom and Dad always looked happy when they held hands._

_“What is it?” Ramona asked as she took a seat on the couch._

_Red and Badwolf shared a look that made Cerise curious. They gestured for their daughters to sit as close to them as they could which they obeyed. Cerise had been sitting hip to hip with her mother and Ramona on her father’s lap._

_“You know how much we love you, right?” Red started._

_Her children nodded._

_“And you know we’re always going to protect you from danger?” Badwolf added._

_Another nod._

_“So then it’s important you hear this. You remember that story we told you before bedtime these past few weeks? The story about a little girl who gets eaten by a wolf?” Red asked._

_“Oh, yeah!” Ramona cheered. “And then the Huntsman comes to save her and her grandma!”_

_“That’s right. Well, when you’re older, you will have to do the same thing as we did, and reenact that story.”_

_“You mean play fairytale?” Cerise asked._

_“That’s right, you guys get to play fairytale,” Red laughed, but Cerise knew it wasn’t out of cheeriness. Something wasn’t right._

_“So, one of us gets to be Little Red Riding Hood? And the other one gets to be the Huntsman?” Ramona asked._

_“Not the Huntsman, Ramona. The Big Bad Wolf.”_ _  
__“Aw, really? Well, I guess it’s okay, the Big Bad Wolf goes to the doctor because his tummy hurts, doesn’t he?”_

_Red and Badwolf sighed disappointedly. They were too little to hear about the fairytale’s dark twist before, but now that they were on their way to spellementary school, it was high time they had to learn the truth, and they weren’t going to let their daughters find out from bullies at school. Badwolf put on a brave face and whispered something in Ramona’s ear. Ramona immediately looked shocked and distressed, frightening Cerise._

_“But you didn’t-”_

_“I know I didn’t. I was lucky. But I can’t promise you’ll be lucky, too.”_ _  
__“So.. I have to be the next Big Bad Wolf?”_

_He nodded slowly._

_There’s an unreadable expression on her sister’s face, whether there was so much emotion or little to none was impossible for Cerise to determine. Cerise’s mother then passed Cerise a signature hood of their family, one Cerise had recognized quickly._

_“What do I need this for?” Cerise asked._

_“Well, you see, my little cherry blossom,” Red wrapped her arm around Cerise. “In the story, the Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood don’t get married. They’re sworn enemies, meaning that your Dad and I did something against how the story goes, and Ever After doesn’t like that very much.”_

_Cerise was confused, but let her carry on._

 _“Cerise, I need you to make a big promise to me.”_ _  
__“What?”_ _  
__“I need you to promise that every single time you go outside, you wear your hood over your head and never show anyone your ears.”_

_Cerise didn’t like that promise. She didn’t like it one bit. She loved her ears. They did so much for her. Her ears made her who she was. Why should she hide something that makes her special?_ _  
_

_“Why?” She asked._

_“Because if anyone finds out about who your father is, we could all get in trouble. The same goes for you Ramona,” She brought Ramona in for a hug. “You.. You can’t tell anyone that I’m your Mom, okay?”_

_“If I can’t tell anyone that you’re my mom, and Cerise can’t tell anyone about Dad, does that mean..?” Ramona realized._

_There’s a deep breath from Red before she dared to speak._

 _“No one, and I mean no one, is allowed to know you two are sisters.”_ _  
__“Why?” They both asked._

_“That’s just the way it has to be,” Their father said._

_Ramona and Cerise looked at each other, still so many questions and wonders behind their eyes. It didn’t make any sense to them. Cerise shouldn’t have to hide who she is, hide who her dad is. Ramona shouldn’t have to hide her little sister, or hide who her mom is._

_It wasn’t fair, not fair at all._

* * *

But that revelation had been a little over a decade ago. Now they were older, and understood far more than they did as children, but even with all of the additional knowledge they acquired, things seemed to only get worse as Cerise felt like their family hit rock-bottom on ideas of how to handle the situation.

The moon had peaked high into the night, midnight drawing near. The sisters met in the Dark Forest as they planned long before, the only place where no one could find them. No one of significance was out and about in a creepy forest so late, after all. 

Cerise sat on a fallen log that had been victim to Ramona’s vicious breath. Ramona liked to blow down a tree or two to take her anger out, but somewhere along the line one tree turned into seven, and then into seventeen. It was one of the gifts Cerise was glad she didn’t inherit from her father, as Ramona’s form of easing her rage was rather.. Destructive.

“Are you trying to deforest the entire area?” She asked sarcastically.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Ramona snorted. “I’ll make sure to blow down a village next time.”

Cerise rolled her eyes. Ramona then dusted her hands and swung herself onto the dirt, her steel eyes reflecting the stars as she watched the night sky. Ramona’s anger relief was one thing, but her _stress_ relief was different. Ramona’s place for a peace of mind was under the moon and stars. She claimed they kept her thoughts organized and let her forget her troubles. It was the only thing that Cerise didn’t expect from her sister. It was a phenomenon, truly.

Cerise sat beside Ramona on the ground, her sister barely offering a glance before she resumed her stargazing. Maybe this would help Cerise have a peace of mind, too.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Cerise asked.

“What’s gonna happen when we sign?” Ramona blurted.

It was abrupt, straight to the point, immediately throwing Cerise off. It might’ve been a question she thought about every minute, but it was the last question Cerise had an answer for. She felt disappointed that she had fallen short of an answer that everyone needed to hear right about now.

_“If,”_ she wanted to tell her, but that word had no power. Not anymore.

“I.. I don’t know,” She muttered.

“Can’t blame ya, no one really does,” She replied. “Signing doesn’t stick us to following word for word, right? What if we do what Dad did and just have an escape plan? Or just tell Hunter the truth? He seems trustworthy.”

“And if Grimm finds out the Big Bad Wolf lived twice? He’ll get suspicious,” Cerise countered.

There’s no reply for a few seconds.

“Fake my death?” Ramona asked.

“That would take a lot of effort, too much effort if you ask me,” Cerise yawned.

“But I’m not wrong.”

“No,” Cerise chuckled. “No, I guess you’re not.”

It was their best idea for the night, even with all of its flaws. It had also been the first Cerise had laughed these past few days, even if the moment was short lived. Afterwards, it was decided to get back to school, for they weren’t going to be able to do anything more productive than a good night’s sleep, and missing curfew would ruin that.

“I’ll race you back to school,” Ramona challenged.

“Don’t go huffing and puffing when you lose,” Cerise taunted.

They ran harder than Cerise ever did for track, their adrenaline at their highest, and neither sister could help but howl excitedly, not caring who heard. It was unclear who had won, Cerise saying it was her and Ramona arguing that Cerise “clearly” came second, but at least it was easier to agree to disagree this time around.

They chatted about nothing of relevance until it was time to go their separate ways, and Cerise was startled by Ramona’s show of affection by hugging her and messing up her hair. She laughed at Cerise’s speechlessness and started to walk down her side of the hall.

“See ya tomorrow, Red,” She said.

“Yup, love you!”

And that was when they called it a day, hoping tomorrow would be easier. _Spoiler alert,_ it _really_ wasn’t.

* * *

Morning bell rang and Cerise dashed to her first class, Cooking Class-ic. Cerise thought oversleeping was bad, but pair that with getting distracted with Carmine and she might as well have skipped the lesson today. She was lucky her speed managed to just scarcely get her to class before she got marked late. If she goes down with a bad grade in any subject, fine, but she’ll never live with herself if she got her marks ruined for being _“tardy.”_ The embarrassment she would bring to her family like that.

When Cerise entered the classroom, of all people she expected to be in this class, _Ramona_ was not one. She nearly jumped when she first saw her, but Ramona was less than fazed.

 _“You’re in this class?”_ Cerise mouthed.

_“Ask Dad.”_

Yeah, Dad would probably be responsible for this.

Cerise sat on the other side of the room, and they ignored each other for the majority of the class. It started with note-taking on reading and understanding recipes which was an absolute bore, but the teacher decided to mix it up a bit and insisted they do an activity for class.

“For our newest activity, I’m going to partner you up with one another to create a dish of your choice! You’ll have an hour and a half, so work well and productively!” The teacher made their way to the board and pulled down a chart paper with everyone’s partner, Cerise frantically searching for her name.

_Cerise Hood and Ramona Badwolf._

“Oh, for fu-”

“Hey, Red,” Ramona greeted, taking the chair beside her.

“It just had to be you, didn’t it?” Cerise said, carefully glancing around the room to see if anyone was staring. Cerise then slowly leaned in to whisper in Ramona’s ear.

“Blueberry Thronecakes?” She suggested.

“Oh, please. We can get that done blindfolded.”

So the wolf sisters got to work (Not blindfolded, much to Ramona’s genuine disappointment.) Cerise had always loved cooking at home with her mother, and Ramona was never shy to help out. When people glanced, they distanced themselves, but when no one was watching, they were cracking inside jokes.

The timer and bell rang simultaneously as the students put their hands away from their food, although Cerise and Ramona finished before them at least a few minutes beforehand. The teacher went around taste-testing and giving them a grade, and when they approached Ramona and Cerise, they were jumping for joy.

“Wow, these are delicious! This is an A for sure! You two make a spelltacular team!”  
“ _Pah,_ me and the Hood?” Ramona scoffed. “Pass.”

The teacher nodded regardless and left them, a delighted smile still on their face. Ramona lightly punched Cerise in the shoulder.

“We do make a good team,” She winked.

“Sure do,” Cerise grabbed a thronecake and started to walk out. “See you at lunch!”  
  
“Now wait just a minute!” Someone interrupted.

Cerise cringed at the shrill voice and despairingly turned around. Blondie was now standing between the two of them, her Mirrorpad in her hands, but there was no recording going on. Ramona scowled, and Cerise just darted her eyes left to right.

‘You two get along awfully well for being enemies.. Is there something going on?”  
“Sportsmanship, Blondie. That’s all it is,” Ramona crossed her arms.

“Is it, though?” She continued. “I clearly remember you two having an insult battle four days ago, but now you’re somehow close? What’s going on behind the scenes?”

Ramona ignored the blonde and shoved both of them away, leaving the room in a hurry. Cerise shrugged at Blondie and left to go out in the hall as well. She sped up to catch Ramona, hoping Blondie wouldn’t follow.

“Hey, it’s whatever. Blondie’s just looking for a scoop, you know how she is.”  
“She wasn’t _this_ annoying before I left.”  
  


It was silent as they walked to the castleteria, and lined up together, and sat together. Even right after Blondie had just tried to get a scoop from them, Cerise couldn’t help but continue to stick close to her sister. She had finally gotten as close as they used to be as kids, and she won’t let a nosy blonde ruin that for her.

Raven and Cedar joined their table and all went well following. That was.. Until the same girl decided to show up again, accompanied by her trusty cameraman, Dexter.

“Blondie Lockes here with another juicy story! Today, we’ll be getting the inside scoop on the Badwolf versus Hood problem! As we all know, Ramona and Cerise have never been considered close compared to other hero versus villain relationships, but recently, they’ve been getting along quite well! A little too well, don’t you think, Ramona?”

“Not your business,” Ramona brushed her off, sipping her soda.

“But your rivalry has been iconic! What changed, and why so quickly?”

Ramona let out a low growl and deadpanned at Blondie.

“Listen, Bumblebee-”

“It’s Blondie,” She corrected.

“I don’t give a shit about your name,” Ramona snarled. “It might be your job to snoop around, but you’re not gonna find anything here, especially not with those stupid questions. Now get the hell away from here because I’m losing my appetite just hearing you breathe.”

“Ramona,” Cerise chastised. “That’s not nice.”

“Yeah, I’m not the Big Nice Wolf, am I?”

“I’m just saying,” Blondie persisted. “One minute you’re laughing and having a good time, and then the next you’re ready to rip each other’s throats out! It’s almost like you pretend to hate each other because you’re secretly dating or-”

The room echoed with the loudest gag roaring out from both Ramona and Cerise’s throats, silencing the whole castleteria as everyone watched the two in astonishment. Cerise collapsed onto the ground in both laughter and disgust while Ramona faked a violent throw up.

“Yeah, Blondie,” Raven muttered from the same table. “ _Terrible_ choice of wording. I’d run for the hills right about now.”

The cafeteria just watched Ramona and Cerise wheeze uncontrollably as Ramona started pointing between the two of them before wheezing heavily. Cerise’s fist was pounding the floor as she cackled just thinking about the horror of that idea. Neither of the two could even stutter a word out, their lungs begging for air from all the laughter.

“EW!” Ramona finally shouted. “That’s disgusting!”

“Oh my Grimm, that’s rich, Blondie! That’s rich!” Cerise snorted.

“It wouldn’t be a first,” Blondie commented. “I mean, look at Faybelle and Briar!” She gestured to the two across the room. “And I’m sure if Darling hadn’t been Apple’s true love, Raven and Apple could’ve dated!”

“Woah, woah.” Raven interrupted. “Apple’s just my best friend forever after, we never liked each other like that.”

“Exactly, Blondie, where did that idea even come from?”

“That’s what they all say,” Blondie winked at the camera.

Ramona wiped the tears that formed from her eyes and her howl of laughter started to calm down. “I am giving you,” she chuckled. “Twenty seconds to run. And so help your soul, because I will find you and I will snap your neck-”

“What is going on here?!” Headmaster Grimm’s voice boomed throughout the area.

He was joined by their father and Baba Yaga. The sisters dusted themselves off while Blondie hid behind her camera. Headmaster Grimm approached the three students and stared Ramona down.

“Was that a threat I heard from you, Ms. Badwolf?” He asked.

“Normally it is, but my dad’s standing there, so I’m going to say.. no?” She shrugged.

Cerise nearly facepalmed. It takes Cerise a lot of energy to deal with Ramona’s bad timing for jokes.

“Violating a behavioral code is detention-guaranteed. Up you go, Ms. Badwolf.”

Ramona stuck her tongue out at both Cerise and Blondie as her dad removed her from the room. Grimm sighed before approaching the other two girls.

“As for you two, a warning will have to do. Blondie Lockes, I hope I won’t see you creating a disturbance again. Ms. Hood, I highly suggest you stay away from your enemy to prevent another scene. Have a good day.”

Headmaster Grimm then left, Cerise now staring at Blondie impatiently. She’s already asking quite a bit by confronting her, but by knowing she won’t get an apology from the other teen, the least she could do was admit to her mistakes when she bothered the two. Nope. Blondie shrugged and walked off to a different table,leaving Cerise standing there. Cerise sighed and sat back down.

“Your father must’ve been so embarrassed to hear that,” Raven whispered to her.

“That would make three of us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: a LOT has happened to Cerise these few chapters! hopefully she catches a break!  
> me: :)  
> reader: right...?  
> me: :)


	6. memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> or: ramona loves her girlfriend and sparrow is being a horny teen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, at a decent time of day: wow i should start writing the rest of my current fic  
> also me, at 4am: *aggressively writing Parent Trap!Hood-Badwolf scenarios*

_“So, Mona,” Her mother came up to her and planted a kiss on top of her head. “How was school?”_

_“It was okay,” Ramona shrugged._

_“Did you make any friends?”_

_“Well, there was this girl named Faybelle, but I wouldn’t call her a friend.”_ _  
__“That’s alright. Be a dear and help me in the kitchen would you?”_

_Ramona and Red were making dinner, waiting for Cerise and Dad to come home from farming with Uncle, a hobby Cerise thought was enjoyable. Ramona, on the other hand, liked to come straight home and spend time with Red, whether knitting or cooking._

_Neither sister was sure if their parents were aware, but the real reason that they liked to do those things with the opposite parent respectively was because the tasks were tedious and time-consuming. They would be the only opportunities where Ramona could have those few alone moments with her mother and Cerise with her father._

_“Mom?” Ramona asked._

_“Yes?”_

_“What happens when I go to high school? Am I ever gonna see you again?”_

_“Oh, Ramona,” She giggled. “Of course you will. You can see me every weekend you’re free, and on breaks. Just come home whenever you want to.”_

_“I won’t get to do it as often as Cerise can. Cerise is supposed to be your daughter.”_ _  
__“Nonsense!” Red cupped Ramona’s face._

_“You are just as much as my daughter as Cerise is, even if the world doesn't know. If you want to see me, then you will come right home and see me, okay?”_

_Ramona didn’t reply, instead biting her lip to hold back the tears. She didn’t like to cry, but her mom always said such sweet things, she could make a grumpy old troll start sobbing. Ramona hugged her mother firmly, desperately trying to print her mother’s warmth onto her skin._

_“Okay,” Ramona finally answered._

* * *

Ramona’s eyes slowly opened, surprised by the light of the day peeking through the curtains. She never appreciated her bed being so close to the balcony, the sun had always been up in her face when she awoke, and she was far from some cheery princess who rose with the sun and sang with the birds.

She couldn’t exactly say the same for her girlfriend, though.

Justine pranced around the room, shining like _she_ was the sun, and if that had been the case, Ramona would never look away. She was already gorgeous when she danced, but she was absolutely radiant when she did so under the light. Ramona had no idea how she’d gotten so lucky.

When Ramona sat up, Justine had finally noticed that she was awake and smiled brightly. Grimm, even that smile had Ramona weak. Justine came closer and straddled Ramona’s lap, leaning in to kiss her, and Ramona wasn’t ever planning on stopping her. Waking up to Justine’s sweet honey lips had made her so grateful to be alive.

Ramona wasn’t sure when she fell in love with Justine, she had never been one to recognize her feelings quickly. All she knew was that she was in love with her now and Justine returned those feelings. They had been dating for at least three months already, and those three months had been nothing but Happily Ever After.

Ramona would set the world on fire if signing would take Justine away from her.

“Good morning, sweetie,” Justine hummed as their lips slowly parted.

“Morning, princess,” Ramona’s hand intertwined with hers.

“You’re so warm,” Justine whispered. “I don’t wanna leave.” 

“You have practice in an hour, babe.”

“I know.. But Duchess has racked the routine into my brain, can’t I just cancel?”

Ramona chuckled as she met Justine’s green eyes. They were so pleading, they put Cerise’s puppy eyes to shame. Ramona could only kiss her again and whisper words between moments.

“I don’t think she’d be very happy if her partner missed practice,” Ramona teased.

“Her partner has her reasons,” Justine replied.

The sound of Ramona’s phone ringing instantly annoyed the two of them, and Ramona had half a mind to chuck her phone out the balcony, but Justine gestured for her to pick up, so Ramona got up and grabbed her mirrorphone. 

The number was unfamiliar, but when she picked up, the voice was most definitely _very_ familiar.

“Hello?” Ramona started.

“Mona? That’s you, ain’t it?” A female voice responded.

Ramona’s eyes widened.

“..Yesenia?!” She asked.

“Hey, girl! Listen, we got off the plane like two hours ago, but since the boys think practicing is more important than our sleep, we’re on the field right now and-”

“Wait, you’re at my school?!” She yelled.

“Duh! We just think it’d be cool if you wanted to stop by for a few-”

“Be there in 2 minutes,” She said before hanging up.

Ramona changed in lightning speed and planted a big kiss onto Justine.

“I’ll make it up to you tonight, but I really gotta-”  
“Moni, it’s okay,” Justine reassured her. “You’re really excited for this! I’ll see you later.”

“Words will never describe how much I love you,” Ramona reminded her before she sped off.

Bless her dad for passing his speed abilities to Ramona, because within half a minute she already set foot onto the dirt and waved to her friends like a happy idiot.

“Yo, losers!” Ramona called out for them.

Multiple girls were huddled up and all turned when they heard Ramona’s voice. When they recognized her, they squealed in delight.

“Oh my god! Ramona!”

The girl group rushed to hug Ramona. Grimm, it had been months since she had seen any of them. They texted a lot, sure, but she had missed them every single day regardless. This was probably the only good thing that came out of the Dolphus versus Ever After High game.

“I thought you quit cheerleading?” Ramona asked.

“I thought I would, too!” Yesenia said. “But then the guys actually did something right, so if I’m gonna quit, I’ll do it with a trophy coming home.”

“So life with the fairytales, huh? Bet that’s ass,” Chenoa teased.

“Whatever-after, they’re fine. It’s not that bad, anyway.”  
“Look at her, she’s already using their slang. We lost a good one,” Dakota added sarcastically.

“Shut up!”

Ramona was so excited to get back with her friends again. They made life at Dolphus Academy such a wild experience and she would always think of them as her irreplaceable friend group for as long as she lives, that’s for sure. The boys, who weren’t far from them, stared at Ramona awkwardly, remembering what occurred not too long ago, but she only stared back at them. _Not my fault your Captain’s an idiot._

“So, any girl we should know about?” Sassaba inquired.

“You mean the one I left behind in the dorm for you guys?”  
“YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND?!” They yelled.

“I thought I told you!”

She did, she knows she did, but everyone has this habit where one thing goes in one ear and out the other. It was the gift of having so many girls leading such different and dramatic lives. So Ramona had them sit down on the ground as she retold them everything about her girlfriend.

“And everyone in school knows?” Xiomara asked.

“Uh, no. It’s kind of a lowkey thing, right now. I only told you guys since you don’t go to school with me anymore.”

“But is it better here?” Tempest asked quietly, and they all fell silent, waiting for Ramona’s response.

“..I mean, yeah. Not by much, though. Like, I’m treated a little worse, but that's guaranteed since I’m a villain. But everyone here is more.. Accepting.”

She didn’t need to elaborate, everyone had been with her when it happened. When she left, everyone had been so worried about how Ever After High would treat her, and she had to constantly reassure them that she would be fine and they had nothing to worry about, but only time would tell for sure.

“Are you girls done chit-chatting?” They were interrupted by Leo who came up to them.

“Get out of here, Leo,” Mitena growled.

“Hey, relax. I’m just here to say hello to my bestie, right Ramona?”  
“Please shut the fuck up.”

“You know ladies,” Leo chuckled. “Not to pit you against me more than I already have, but did you know that they let girls play on teams around here?”

“Lucky them,” Yesenia muttered.

“I’m just saying, with such an opportunity, you’d be surprised to know Ramona isn’t on the bookball team. A little surprising, don’t you think?”

She wasn’t sure what he was trying to do, but whatever it was, it didn’t work. They all just shrugged at him and practically ignored him. Even if he did get a reaction, Ramona wouldn’t ever want to do bookball, anyway. Not because she couldn’t play, but because bookball has always been Cerise’s specialty, and Ramona knew not to get involved.

Speak of the devil and she shall appear. Hunter and Daring ran onto the field and were followed by their less than enthusiastic teammates, and were surprised to see the Dolphus boys again along with the girls.

“What are you doing here?” Daring asked.

“Ain’t got nowhere else to practice, plus my very gorgeous cheerleaders wanted to say hi,” Leo answered.

“Sweet fairy fire!” Sparrow whispered to Hopper. “Wouldn’t mind getting with one of those.”  
“You don’t need to whisper,” Dakota rolled her eyes. “Can hear ya just fine.”

“Aw, don’t embarrass him like that, he's complimenting you,” Leo said.

“Do you understand how every time you speak, I want to kick you in the face?” Dakota threatened.

Cerise gave a questioning look to Ramona, who could only shrug. It’s hard to explain to Cerise what went on at her other school. Two years of the dynamic between their groups simply couldn’t be shortened in a few minutes.

“You know what would be fun?” Leo suggested. “Just a normal game of bookball. Liven up the mood, get us all rallied up for the real deal next week.”

All of the members looked at Daring, waiting for an answer, but he shook his head boldly.

“No thanks, I think we’ll wait until the actual game is here,” He responded.

Leo shrugged, and was a little startled by Yesenia tapping his shoulder.

“We’ll play against you,” She offered.

“You’re kidding, right?” He asked.

“What? Afraid you’ll lose?”

Ramona must be seeing things. Does Leo look.. Embarrassed?! Oh Grimm, she wants to record this. She doesn’t think she’s ever seen Leo look so flustered before. No, scratch that, she doesn’t think she’s ever seen Leo flustered, period. The other girls, even the boys, must’ve been thinking the same as they all looked at each other.

“Ah, that’s right,” Yesenia added. “Your opposing team will be watching, I assume. It would be so embarrassing to lose in front of them. It’s okay, don’t tell me twice.”

“I never said no!” He choked. “I’m trying to save face for you! I already teased you for trying to play sports with us, don’t get angry when I proved my point!”

“I don’t see why you’re so nervous, Leo. I mean, eight _weak, pitiful_ girls against seven strong men?” She exaggerated. “We don’t stand a chance! So what’s the harm in letting us play?”

“Fine! Fine!” He answered quickly. “If you wanna lose so bad, let’s play!”

Ramona smirked as she caught Cerise snorting. Ramona thinks that if Cerise ever planned on getting to know her friends, Yesenia would be a good match. In fact, when they met, Yesenia reminded her a lot of her sister. Persistent, aggressive, and they always got their way in the end.

Sparrow came up to Yesenia and placed a hand on Yesenia’s shoulder.

“I like this one, are you by any chance-"

“Get your hand off me,” She swatted him away.

“Ah, she bites.”

* * *

The Ever After High team sat on the bleachers while the Dolphus kids versed each other in the game, and the only thing that had simultaneously been in their minds was _seriously, these girls kick ass._

“And you’re telling me Leo won’t put _any_ of them on his team?!” Dexter asked.

“Yeah, because all of the girls are better than _him!_ He’d get replaced for Captain in a second!” Hunter replied.

“Okay, but Ramona is a natural! She can _play!”_ Sparrow commented.

Cerise simply bit her lip, not wanting to say anything. As long as Sparrow didn’t say something stupid, it’d be okay, as long as he didn’t say something stupid, it’d be okay..

“We should ask her to play for us!” He yelled.

_Grimm dammit._

As Ramona was on the field, she overheard those words. She shot a glance at the boys as they seemed to almost agree with Sparrow’s suggestion, yet what she paid most attention to was Cerise’s pained expression as the boys agreed. The way she looked so hurt almost made her stop dead in her tracks.

Bookball is _Cerise’s_ thing, not Ramona’s. It was something she could brag about, something that she spent so long working for to be the best player she could be, something that made her sister feel _important._ Ramona probably understands that more than she would. It’s not fair if Ramona takes that from her. She doesn’t want to take that away from her sister.

She has the ball, and in the shortest amount of time she had to plan, she slammed herself into the ground, the ball sliding down the grass.

“Mo, are you good?!” She heard Tempest call out.

“Yeah, I’m good! Go steal the ball again!” 

“Mona, that was a nasty fall,” Xiomara kneeled down to meet her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Ramona’s eyes flashed yellow, and to others, she’d do so in a threatening manner, but to her friends, she did so in a playful attitude,

“Get. The. Ball.” She ordered.

“Your call, Captain,” And she sped off.

The yellow stayed as she looked over at Cerise and smiled honestly. Cerise’s surprised look in return seemed to tell Ramona that she understood what she did that for, and then Ramona stood up and ran again.

“Has Ramona ever seemed clumsy to you guys?” Sparrow asked, but didn’t get an answer.

* * *

The girls won, of course, but Ramona hadn’t been their main target to give glory, something that she wasn’t normally okay with, but for once in a while, she _was._ Ramona then decided to go grab lunch for the girls and left, but not before Cerise caught up to her.

“Why did you do that?” She bluntly asked.

“Because, sis,” Ramona laughed. “I know when I’m not wanted. Besides, I'm more of a basketball player."  
“Oh,” Cerise muttered. “...Thanks.”

“It’s whatever. Hey, I’m going to Five Dwarves, what do you want?”  
“Oh my Grimm, please get me their hotdog combo. I _really_ want one.”  
“Okay, pup,” Ramona messed up Cerise’s hair. “See ya later.”

  
“Love you!”  
“Love ya too, Red.”

Ramona made her way off to Book End, her mind racing, but there was a memory that was replaying every second, something that hadn’t come off her mind since that small moment with her little sister.

* * *

_Ramona stared at their photo album, looking at the photos of her and her sister as babies. It was so weird, seeing yourself so many years younger, and yet you still have so much more growing to do. She then flipped to the page that showed their names on a wristband they wore as newborns._

_“Why are our names like that?” She asked her mom._

_“You mean why and how I named you?”_

_“Yeah,” She muttered._

_Red sat beside Ramona, looking at the photo and smiling._

_“Well, surprisingly, your dad always liked the name Cerise. He thought the name was youthful, colorful, and adorable overall, but I always liked the name Ramona. It means protecting hands.”_

_Ramona stared at her mother curiously before replying._

_“So you just gave us those names?”_

_“Well, you make it sound like I named you randomly, when that was quite the opposite.” Red laughed. “When I was pregnant with you two, I swore I was going to name the older girl Ramona, because she would be protective of her family, and her sister especially._

_Ramona thought about that, what her mom had really meant behind those words._

_“So I have to be protective of Cerise?”_ _  
__“Well, what is most important to you worth protecting?”_  
 _“..Cerise.”_ _  
“And why is that?”_

_There’s a small moment of silence, a few seconds for Ramona to think of an answer._

_“Because seeing her happy makes me happy.”_

_Red smiled at her daughter and wrapped her arm around Ramona’s waist._

_“That makes you a really good older sister.”_

_Ramona nodded it off. She wanted to be a good sister for Cerise, that’s what matters most, and if Cerise ever told her that she hated having Ramona for a sibling, Ramona isn’t sure if her heart could ever be pieced back together._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> foreshadowing question mark?


	7. storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1448 days later and Ramona smiling when she sees Justine skating in Epic Winter still lives in my mind rent free

Cerise wasn’t sure what to say when she spotted Justine at the school’s laundromat, a big smile on her face as she waved. Cerise and Justine hardly talked, apart from that one time Cerise saved her at Baba Yaga’s office, but that had been so long ago.

Cerise awkwardly waved back and started using a machine not far from Justine’s, and she hoped that would be the end of their interaction. Nope, the dancer was quite excited to talk to Cerise, actually.

“Hi, Cerise! Are you excited for the big game?”

“Well, I know it’s gonna be tough, but we’ll do our best.” Her voice wavered between words.

“Oh, of course. You all must be facing a lot of pressure to win, but I know you guys will do everything you can!”

Cerise smiled at her comment. Justine was an upbeat girl, and always had some positive affirmations to give to those who needed it, and Cerise could really use one of those right about now.

Justine started to put her clothing inside and the sight of a red shirt caught Cerise’s eye. A _very familiar_ red shirt. She didn’t need another look. She knew that was Ramona’s shirt. Sure, Ramona was never one to stay on top of her chores, but Ramona didn’t like when people did things for her, and laundry was one of many things.

It’s not like she can just ask Justine what her shirt was doing in there, but Cerise was rather curious to know why. 

“So, what’s it like rooming with the next Big Bad Wolf?” Cerise asked.

“Oh, it’s so much less complicated than what people thought it would be,” Justine started. “Ramona.. You know, she’s got a shell. You gotta break through it before she shows you her real side. She’s a lot sweeter than what people believe. It might be a mess for her to handle her emotions, sure, but she has a good heart. You probably already knew that, though, didn’t you?”

Cerise visibly gulped.

“W-what do you mean?” She stuttered.

“I saw Blondie’s disaster of a mirrorcast. I know you two get along, even though you like to pretend you don’t. You’re obviously not dating, I don’t believe that for a second,” She seemed to almost laugh at that preposterous idea.

Cerise lost focus on her laundry and simply leaned against the machine, paying attention to Justine’s words.

“I guess what I’m saying is.. Ramona puts on an act to save herself from her real emotions, which sucks because so many fairytale villains grew up being taught to do just that. I guess we both have to look out for her.”

Justine’s machine started and she left with a kind smile. Cerise completely spaced out as she thought about Justine’s last words, because she knew they were truer than Cedar’s truths. The question was, how did Justine know that?

_Does she know?_ _  
_

It’s silly, but not impossible. Justine is smart enough to figure it out on her own, or Ramona straight up told her. Cerise doesn’t mind who Ramona tells, because Ramona’s sense of who she can trust is far superior to any other wolf she’s met, but it wouldn’t have hurt to hit Cerise up with a _hey, my roommate knows by the way, hope you don’t mind._

She considered calling her to ask, but it would be easier to ask face-to-face, so she decided to go on about her day and wait for that opportunity to do so.

* * *

Cerise’s last class was Science & Sorcery, and she always had to be on her best behavior if she wanted to get out of class on time. Professor Rumpelstiltskin was insanely strict, even the wrong step would send you to detention. He was one of the most hated teachers for a reason.

“You two cannot sit together!” He yelled.

Cerise was disturbed by the Professor’s hoarse and raspy voice. She looked around for who he was speaking to and saw Briar and Faybelle looking at him wide-eyed and displeased.

“What do you mean we can’t sit together?!” Faybelle shouted at him.

“Headmaster Grimm has made a new rule to separate protagonists and antagonists at all times, and I assure you he would be hextremely furious if he saw _you two_ together.”

Cerise winced. She hadn’t hexpected him to be so serious about this. Faybelle and Briar were likely Grimm’s most controversial couple in school. He had a problem with every rebellious couple, but everyone believed that he had an unspoken hatred for those two. It made Cerise feel so sorry for them. She knew most about a villain falling in love with their nemesis, after all.

“That’s crazy! You can’t do something like that!” Briar said.

“I apologize, you two can sit together.. If you want detention for the rest of the month!”

A few gasps could be heard around the room. The couple could only roll their eyes at Professor Rumpelstiltskin, unfazed by his cruelty.

“Faybelle Thorn,” He ordered. “You will be sitting beside Cerise Hood.”

Faybelle groaned and stood up, but her arm was caught by Briar.

“You’re not really gonna listen to him, are you?!”

“Briar, I can’t get you in trouble.”

“But that rule is completely ridiculous!”

Faybelle softened and leaned down to meet her princess, stroking a strand of her hair to calm her down.

“Your safety is more important, even if I have to follow some stupid little rule.”

The classroom stayed silent as Faybelle flew over to the empty chair beside Cerise. When she took her new spot, Cerise couldn’t stop staring at the winged girl, and it had clearly irked her.

“What do you want?” Faybelle asked disdainfully.

“You’re really protective of Briar, aren’t you?”

Faybelle’s cheeks got colorful, and it made Cerise chuckle to herself.

“It’s not something bad to admit, I think it’s nice of you,” She added.

“Why are you _really_ interested in me and Briar? This isn’t because you need tips on how to get with your fairytale villain, right?”

“Oh, Grimm, absolutely not,” Cerise snorted. “I just.. Wanted to know how you’re handling it.”

“Just fine, thank you very much.”

Silence.

“Well.. it hasn’t affected our feelings for each other, just.. The way we have to balance things. We have to start hanging out where Headmaster Grimm can’t see us, and we can’t hold hands in public anymore..” She explained. “Seriously, why am I telling you this? Why do you want to hear about my problems?”

“I just think it would be easier if people got things off their chest more often,” _Because I’ll never be able to,_ she thought. “I know it’s difficult to believe it, but you two will get through this together.”

“How do you know for sure?”

“I know some people, so I have a little experience.”

The teenagers began to copy down the notes the professor showed them, but as Faybelle wrote hers, she would continuously look over her shoulder in the direction of Briar. Cerise grew curious again.

“What’s the matter?”

“Briar’s going to fall asleep soon and no one will help her get anything written down.”

“Aww. You really do love her,” Cerise cooed.

“Well,” The fairy chuckled. “Someone has to be there to look out for her.”

They carried on, and just before class was about to end, Faybelle leaned towards Cerise and asked the hooded girl:

“Who exactly do you know that’s gone through this?”

“That’s private information,” Cerise said.

“I’ll answer a question of yours if you answer mine,” She offered.

“Nope.”

Faybelle rolled her eyes.

“Whatever, then. But just so we’re clear, you only talked to me because you care about me and Briar, not anything else?”  
“Yes, Faybelle, I talked to you because I care.”

Faybelle scoffed as if displeased with her answer and muttered something loud enough for Cerise to hear.

“I just have to make sure. Ramona’s been super weird lately.”

“What do you mean?” Her voice suspiciously piped up.

Faybelle smirked, now appearing as if she had gotten her way.

“Haven’t you noticed? She’s obviously into someone, you can tell by how soft she’s been getting. I have a list of suspects, but since you’re _so sure_ you two are just friends, I’ll just cross out your name. But I’m telling you, she’s eyeing someone around here.”

And then Faybelle flew away, leaving a stunned Cerise.

“...She is?”

* * *

The final bell rang, and all the students left to attend to their own business. Cerise was busy with her locker when she spotted Ramona and Justine out of the corner of her eye, taking the back exit of the school. _Bingo,_ just the two people she needed to talk to. Cerise made sure her hood was on tightly, then followed them through the Enchanted Forest.

“You know, princess,” Ramona smirked. “I never took you to be the outdoorsy type before.”

“Just a little trait I’m picking up from you.”

Cerise noticed the farther they got from school, the closer Justine would lean into Ramona’s side. Ramona didn’t reciprocate, but had recognized what she was doing as they walked deeper into the forest. Cerise debated how she was going to walk out of the shadows and confront them, and that’s when her foot slid against the ground, making a grating noise.

“Did you hear that?” Ramona whipped her head around.

Cerise hid behind a tree, holding her breath.

“Oh, honey, like my hearing would ever be as good as yours.”

_Honey?_

“No, I heard something. Maybe we should go back, I don’t like the feeling that someone is following us.”

“Mona, even if someone is following, what’s the harm? Don’t you think we should start letting people know now?”

“Not if it was someone dangerous, like Grimm. Besides, I don’t want people knowing before my family does.”

Justine placed a finger to Ramona’s lips, and then her hands slowly cupped her face, and to Cerise’s surprise, Ramona obeyed it. No, there was no way Ramona and Justine were…

“Then no one will know until your family knows first.”

Cerise watched in incredulity as Justine kissed Ramona, and both of them looked so familiar in each other’s embrace, you’d think they’d have been together for years. Cerise’s emotions had gone so turbulent. She was happy for her sister, for starters. Ramona deserved to feel loved. Yet even so, she also felt.. Betrayed.

Ramona had _promised_ to keep less secrets from Cerise, but then she goes and does _this?_ A relationship is a tough thing to reveal, she completely understands that, but the question was _how long_ had she been hiding it? Surely a few months.

Cerise couldn’t say she was mad, more so disappointed. She refused to reveal herself now, and instead moved with the shadows, retreating to her dorm.

* * *

“I mean, after everything we’ve been through! I can’t believe she’s hiding secrets from me!”  
“Oh no! What a nightmare!”

Cerise’s mouth gaped before she cleared her throat.

“Sorry,” She mumbled.

Ranting to Cedar has as many pros as it does many cons. While Cedar can give you honest and noteworthy advice, it’s hard to tell her exactly the problem, so Cerise has to keep the details as simple as she can get.

“You should just talk to her about it, y’know? Just don’t be harsh.”

“Being harsh is the only way I can get her to really talk to me these days.”

“Hey, I don’t know what secret she’s hiding, but it must have a really important reason if she didn’t tell you.”

Cedar was right. Ramona had to have her reasons. She’s had some illogical, and quite frankly, absent of being decent excuses, but a relationship has many points as to why not everyone shows it off starting day one.

“Thanks, Cedar. I should get going now. Carmine must be waiting for me.”  
“Sure thing, I’ll see you later.”

Cerise left and headed out into the Dark Forest, but couldn’t get herself to relax at all. She was frustrated, disappointed, confused, and overall sad that Ramona was hiding again. Just when she thought she had gotten through to her, she felt like she lost the bond she had with her sister all over again.

Ramona was already waiting there, looking over her shoulder to see Cerise arrive. 

“Hey, Red.” 

Cerise stood silent, crossing her arms. Ramona put her hands on her hips in response.

“What is it now?” Ramona snarled.

“Can I ask if there’s something you wanna tell me?” She said as if she was warning her.

Ramona isn’t fazed, and simply shrugged. 

“Ain’t got nothing.”  
“Oh, so now you’re _lying_ to me?!”

“Look, Red, I don’t-”  
“I _know,_ Ramona.”

Ramona mirrored Cerise in crossing her arms, an arrogant expression to match. 

“Know what?”

Cerise had suddenly felt unnerved. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear to busy herself from speaking. She’s not sure how to word her upcoming sentence to prevent Ramona from getting angry.

She won’t be able to. Ramona gets set off over almost everything.

“I know about you and Justine,” She admitted. “Why are you hiding from me again?! I thought you would keep your promise!”

Ramona doesn’t answer, and instead turns around, leaving Cerise to feel as if she’s talking to a wall. There’s no sound from Ramona.

“I can handle you not telling me about your high school life away from home but this?!” She continued. “You can’t even tell me you’re dating someone?! Why?!”

Ramona was still silent.

“I don’t get why you hate me so much! I go out of my way to tell you everything about me, Ramona!”

“I NEVER ASKED YOU TO TELL ME ANYTHING!” Ramona snapped, stomping her way to face Cerise.

“I am not obligated to share shit with you!” Ramona argued. “My personal business is _my fucking business!_ Grow up and understand that!”

“Oh, then Grimm forbid I could _ever_ hold a conversation with you!” Cerise protested. “You are by far the most secretive person I have ever met! You’re worse than me!” 

“Then go cry yourself a river about it! See if I care!”

“I _hate_ you!” Cerise yelled. “You’re stubborn! You’re mean! _You’re the worst sister ever!_ ”

Ramona didn’t respond and in that window of opportunity, Cerise shoved Ramona aside and walked away from the situation. It’s far from her proudest moment, but Ramona had always been one to start fights, and Cerise one to finish them.

She strolled down the pathway in fury and confusion. She tries for Ramona, she does, all the time. Why had Ramona never done the same? They grew up under the same roof, had to hide the exact same secret, and had done everything together as children, nothing left undisclosed. _What changed?_

Her head turned when she spotted Daring lying on the ground a few feet away, seemingly doing nothing but gazing at the night sky. It was a sight that interested Cerise for she had _never_ taken Daring to be someone who hung out in the Dark Forest past curfew, breaking several rules by doing just that. It was something Hunter might do, even something that was hexpected to catch Sparrow in the middle of, but _Daring?_

Curiosity killed the cat, but it’ll take more than that to kill a wolf.

“Care to explain what Daring Charming is doing in the Dark Forest?” Cerise asked as she approached the aforementioned, cautiously taking a seat close to him.

“Might I ask the same? As to why you’re here, I mean.” He chuckled.

“I know the forests well. I grew up amongst them. You lived in a castle all your life.”  
“Well, I’m also a hero. I can defend myself from danger.”

Cerise nodded, she supposed he was right. It didn’t stop her from wanting to know what he was doing out so late, though. Just as she was about to speak, he stole her turn, and even had the same topic to discuss.

“Could I.. complain to you? If it’s not too much trouble,” He asked.

“Of course! What’s the problem?”

“It’s nothing dramatic. Just this destiny thing. Father hasn’t spoken to Darling since she started dating Apple. Mother was indifferent, but Father hated it so much, he was one of the parents who agreed to reinstate Legacy Day. So, if I sign and end up as Apple’s prince again, Dad will make everything go back to normal, and I’m worried it’ll ruin me and Darling’s relationship.”

Cerise listened intently. She hadn’t thought too much about what signing would mean for the others, and that’s when she realized that practically _everyone’s_ relationship would be jeopardized by Legacy Day, and that would include..

Ramona and Justine.

“Why..” She started. “Why does your dad hate it so much?”

“He raised me to be a perfect prince, and Darling as just a damsel. When he found out Darling was Apple’s true love, I guess he thought we didn’t respect him. He wasn’t too keen on me being Rosabella’s prince, but neither was I, really.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I never really loved Apple, and I never really loved Rosabella either. With all due respect, though, they’ve both helped me a lot in my life, but no matter who destiny pairs me up with, it’s never someone I believe I’ll love forever after.”

“Who do _you_ want to be with, then?”

“I..” He stared at Cerise silently, as if in thought before he spoke. “I don’t know. All I know is that it won’t be Apple, not after I’ve seen how much Darling loves her. If I make my father happy, it’s at the expense of my sister’s heart, and that’s not a trade I want to do.”

“Well, it’s not for sure that signing means we’re stuck to our stories. I mean, the Evil Queen signed and went off-book, and so did my mom-”

Cerise’s hand shot up to her mouth, but it was too late, she could already tell by the way Daring looked at her confused. There was an awkward silence, the two just staring at each other waiting for the other to say something.

“Your mother...went off-book?” Daring asked slowly.

Cerise bit her lip. This was _not_ what she needed right now. She didn’t have the energy nor the strength to lie to Daring, but she also felt she didn’t have the courage to tell him. Her hands reached for her hood. If she couldn’t tell Daring, the next best thing was to _show_ him.

Cerise dropped her hood and tucked her hair behind her exposed ears, and Daring was left stunned. She sighed and waited for him to speak. She was risking a lot here by telling him. Daring was really popular, and if he told even just one person, the whole school would know within half an hour.

“Maddie said they were fake,” He started.

“I know she did. That was, as you can see, obviously a lie. My father isn’t someone from the Huntsman family, Daring. My dad is the Big Bad Wolf.”

“Wait, so.. Your mother married the man who ate her and her grandmother?!”

“He never ate them. They learned to get along in high school, and he respected her enough to only stash Grandma Hood in a closet, and in return for not eating anyone, Mom helped him escape from the Huntsman. Then they would talk often, and along the line, they fell in love.”

“So Ramona would be your sister?” He asked.

“That would be correct.”  
“Well that would make Blondie’s mirrorcast extremely embarrassing,” He noted.

Cerise laughed, and Daring joined in. That’s when Cerise remembered why she lingered in the Dark Forest in the first place. She cleared her throat and looked up at Daring. 

“Would it be alright if I complained to you now?”

“Yes, perfectly alright. What’s up?”

“I had a fight with Ramona,” She muttered. “Ever since she came back from that stupid academy, she’s been a completely different person with me. She’s hiding a lot of secrets from me and she’s been so defensive about it. Before she left, she would always tell me everything. We talked all the time, and now she hates me and treats me like an outsider.”

Daring nodded and scratched the back of his neck in thought.

“What if something happened over there?” He suggested. “Maybe she put her trust in the wrong person and they betrayed her. It does a lot of damage, really.”

That seemed out of character for Ramona. Her sister had always been really good at pointing the finger to who’s trustworthy and who’s not, so if it was true, and Ramona really did get her trust betrayed by another student at that school..

“That would absolutely break her,” She said.

“A word of advice?” Daring offered, and Cerise nodded.

“Let her be for a little, she’ll need some time to heal. Ramona’s never been a social butterfly, so maybe it takes a lot of time for her to open up to people and she doesn’t want to see that go to waste. You know her best, though, so my judgement might be wrong.”

“Actually,” Cerise muttered. “You kinda hit the bullseye on that one.”

In silent truth, Daring’s advice was.. Useful. It was a different, healthy perspective that Cerise would never have tried to use before. Of all people who had really changed Cerise’s mind on something, Daring hadn’t been the person she expected it to come from.

He had been a lot smarter than people gave him credit for.

“Thanks, Daring,” She added. “I would tell Darling that she and Apple won’t have to worry too much.”

“I should be thanking you, too. Revealing your secret must be a big deal.”  
“If I’m telling someone I care about, it’s not too difficult.”

They smiled at each other before Cerise lowered her voice to speak.

“Promise not to tell anyone about my family?”

“Future king’s honor,” He pledged. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you see me editing mistakes i’ve made in chapters i already posted.. no you didn’t <3!


	8. forgive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: homophobia, mentions of nsfw, implicit mentions of alcohol and drugs

For the past two days, Cerise tried everything to get in contact with Ramona. She would call her number only to get sent to voicemail, she texted only to get left on read, if not blocked. She would do everything in her power to have them make eye contact in the halls, only for Ramona to swiftly turn the corner. She hasn’t had the courage to go to her dorm, and with Justine of all people living there, she’s not sure she ever will.

Giving Ramona space was a lot easier said than done. If Cerise was set on something, she wouldn’t leave it alone until she got it, and right now she’s determined to let her sister know that she was sorry for what happened. Apologies don’t fix everything, but if Ramona knows that Cerise truly felt bad about how she handled the situation, it would be enough for now.

She practically raced to Cooking Class-ic with the intent of beating Ramona there. It would be less awkward in the sense that Ramona was better at ignoring Cerise. She sat in the same seat she did the other day, and raised her head when Ramona entered the room, although Ramona didn’t even acknowledge her presence and sat as far away from Cerise as she could.

Baby steps, Cerise reminded herself. Baby steps.

“Since partnering up gave us all fine results last week, partnering up again should be of no problem as we move forward into creating more complicated dishes! If you and your partner can successfully complete a dish from the Master’s section, you’ll receive hextra credit which will help your Fairy Point Average! Good luck!”

She knew all too well that Ramona wouldn’t sit beside her willingly, so Cerise awkwardly took the empty chair beside Ramona and sat in silence. It’s tense, Ramona refusing to speak and Cerise unsure of what to say.

“Listen Mona, I-”  
“Not a word out of your mouth or I will bomb this project.”

Ramona didn’t entirely mean that. Even villains care about their FPA, and Ramona was no exception. Cerise grabbed the recipe book and flipped to the Master’s section, and for once, she finally caught Ramona’s attention when she spoke to her in a decent sentence.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“Getting us hextra credit, duh.”

“You do know that Mom hasn’t left so much as a fingerprint on those pages, right?” She whispered harshly. “Hardly in history has anyone seen a Hood come out of their kitchen alive and with an edible meal!”

“..First time for everything.”

Cerise quickly eased up into the baking, Ramona’s helping hands being here and there, but not as involved as before. They’re speaking, but not.. Talking. Cerise could ask for an ingredient to be passed or Ramona might ask what measurement was listed on the recipe, but it wasn’t a full-blown conversation. 

“I give up,” Cerise said.

“What? Already? We _just_ put the batter in the oven.”

“No, I give up on us trying to keep it.. I don’t even know what this is. Listen, I want to apologize.”

Ramona crossed her arms but didn’t deny Cerise to speak, so she carried on.

“There’s a lot I’ve been wanting to ask or tell you, but you’ve been a bit of a wall lately, so obviously, I would bottle it up and then wait for another time. I guess that I pent up some anger I had as well, so I let my emotions get the best of me the other night.”

“The more I dwell on it,” She continued. “The more I see that the way I acted was so not just right. It’s your relationship, and it’s your decision to tell people, and I acted as if I didn’t respect your choice to keep it hidden, which made me look like a bad sister. I don’t want to be those siblings attached to the hip or whatever, but I want us to go back to being close like we were as kids. I’m sor-”

“Don’t,” Ramona interrupted her.

“Did I say something wrong?” She asked.

Ramona looked up at the clock, and only a few minutes had passed since they had left the batter to bake. She thinned her lips and spoke.

“You never did anything wrong,” She admitted. “You never do anything bad intentionally, I know that. This is..gonna be a long story, but we’ve got an hour so let’s just get out of here.”

“You want us to skip a class that we’re already in? What about the cake?”

“The cake has to be in there for another hour, and if we run, they won’t even notice we left.”

Cerise agreed, albeit hesitantly. They dashed out of the class simultaneously and she could only hope the teacher wouldn’t see that they left. Ramona grabbed Cerise by the hand and led her down the Dark Forest path, where the shadows had hidden them perfectly. What secret could Ramona possibly be hiding if she needed them so far from school?

“You know I’m not that good a storyteller, I don’t know where to start,” Ramona admitted. “What do you want to hear first? Whatever you wanna know, I’ll tell you.”

“There’s a lot I wanna hear,” She confessed. “Just start with where it all makes sense.”

“Well, okay,” She hummed in thought. “I went to that school the way you remember me, some social little fourteen year old who could put all of my trust in somebody I met a minute ago, and when you’re attending a school where everyone is exactly like you: A child of an important wolf and you only go to that school to flaunt your status, let’s just say your circle is.. Really big.”

“Being the daughter of the most famous wolf in history meant that I made lots of friends simply because it was easy. One of those friends was Leo.”

As Cerise listened, she noticed the way Ramona had nearly spat his name as if in disgust.

“He was.. He was a good kid in freshman year, nothing like he is now. All he wanted to do was enjoy life to the fullest and make people laugh. That’s how we became friends, I thought he was funny. Afterwards, we pretty much saw each other as family. Then sophomore year came..” She groaned.

“Leo’s older brother became pack leader that summer and I swear he must’ve inflated the kid’s ego. He wasn’t fun anymore. He was bossy and stuck-up. The other dudes used to bully him because a few girls had more muscle than he did, so how does he jump back? He became sports captain for almost every team and then banned all of the girls.”

“How is that even allowed?!” Cerise asked.

“I know, right?! The major flaw with that school is that they are so _blind_ when the men do something wrong. They said that Leo was, and I quote, _“just looking out for the safety of the girls,”_ but switch the roles and suddenly it turns into _you’re stealing their basic rights.”_

“Anyways,” She calmed down. “I was a member of the basketball team, so we had this big argument and I just stopped hanging out with him. The thing is, he still thought I was his friend. He would talk to me like nothing was wrong, he’d invite me wherever he went, and even when I told him I didn’t want to be friends anymore, he ignored me.”

“At Juliet’s 16th birthday party, his girlfriend broke up with him.”

“Oh, that’s terrible,” Cerise sympathized.

“His girlfriend broke up with him and I slept with her the same night.”  
“ _Oh my grimm, that’s terrible._ ”

Ramona chuckled nervously.

“You really think that’s the worst part?”  
“What’s the worst part?”

“I slept with her thinking they were still together.”

Cerise stopped dead in her tracks. She wasn’t going to actually say anything, but Cerise was _really_ going to need an hour to process all of this. She suddenly developed a ton of respect for Ramona for not telling her anything, because this was _a lot._

“I was drunk as hex, but I know damn well I could still tell myself that she was his girlfriend. And yet I didn’t. I suppose they got into an argument again or something because she told Leo about it, and that’s when everything went to hell.”

“He was absolutely furious. There was no way I would know they broke up when it happened, so he thought I was doing it to get revenge. I told him it was an honest mistake and how I was too drunk to really think. I asked him to keep my sexuality a secret because the wolves over there aren’t.. As nice about it. He said that I could trust him and he wouldn’t tell a soul.”

“And?” Cerise asked.

“And that bastard lied. Not even 24 hours go by and the entire school knows I’m a lesbian. He told everyone. He even lied about it, saying I.. saying I slipped something in her drink and that I..”

Cerise couldn’t bear to see her sister look so uncomfortable and hugged her to show support. “You don’t have to continue,” She said, hoping that Ramona wasn’t driving herself to torture so Cerise could hear the story. Yet even then, she carried on.

“My friends and the bookball boys that you met obviously didn’t believe him and supported me, but that didn't mean much compared to everything else. I got beaten around by kids at least twice a day, and they would write over my stuff and call me things like a freak, a whore, a..”

There it was again, Ramona’s shift as she began to feel very uncomfortable. Whatever they called her had to have been so significant, it hurt her to the point she couldn’t repeat it. Cerise reminded her that she didn’t need to continue, but Ramona didn’t stop. She wanted to get this story over with.

“Obviously, the school got word of it. I thought they would get Leo punished for it, or at least tell their students that what they were doing to me was wrong. Instead.. They wanted _me_ to transfer. Their reputation would be “damaged” if I stayed any longer. They asked if I wanted Dad to know why I left, but I said no, so they said they sent me back because I needed to complete my education for my fairytale heritage, that’s why Mom and Dad don’t know.”

“So I packed, then I left. Now I have no idea what that school thinks of me, or how Leo thinks of me. The way he treats me is so confusing, as if nothing is wrong,” She muttered. “I guess that I had grown defensive without realizing it, and over time I started hiding secrets from everybody to protect myself, and that meant keeping my life secret from you too, Red. I never meant to, not on purpose, it’s just.. It hurt a lot to open up again after that.”

Cerise didn’t need to hear another word. She swung her arms over Ramona and hugged her as hard as she could. She would murder Leo the next time she saw him, she promised herself. How could he do that to her? How could he? 

She wished she had noticed sooner that Ramona had been hurting. It would’ve saved them a lot of trouble. 

“I want you to know,” Cerise assured. “That as your sister, I will never break your trust, okay? All of your secrets are safe with me and I would never betray you. I swear to Grimm the next time I see Leo..” She didn’t finish that thought, but Ramona did giggle.

"That means a lot, Red," She replied. "So, about Justine.." She cleared her throat. “Yeah, we started dating a few months ago. I don’t know when exactly I fell for her, but once she told me she liked me, I knew I did too. I guess you were the one I heard in the forest that day.”

Cerise nodded. Ramona playfully punched her sister in the shoulder.

“Creep,” She teased.

“I didn’t plan to!” 

“Sure you didn’t,” She sighed. “I just don’t want Mom and Dad to find out about us at the same time as everyone else, but the thing is Justine doesn’t know about.. you know.” She gestured to Cerise’s hood.

“She doesn’t?”

“Nope.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be too worried. Justine’s definitely very supportive.”  
  


“I know,” Ramona smiled in agreement. “I know.”

That’s when Cerise seemed to agree with what Faybelle said. Ramona had gotten softer, yes, but that was in no way a bad thing. She believed that they both loved each other, and that this relationship would really help Ramona grow as a person. And for the first time in what felt like forever, Cerise wouldn’t have to be the only one to look out for her sister.

“So no secret boyfriend from you?” Ramona teased.

“Nope. No secret girlfriend or partner either,” She said as she walked away.

“You like girls too?!”

Cerise smirked as she continued walking back to school.

“Pansexual and proud of it!”

“Hex yeah! I knew you weren’t straight!” She yelled as she caught up to her.

Cerise thought it might have been too sudden, but Ramona was completely happy for her. Cerise told her that she knew she had an attraction to both boys and girls in middle school, but discovered in high school that gender had never mattered to begin with. As they made their way back to Ever After High, they started talking like they did before. Asking silly questions, getting personal and real answers instead, and finally having fun.

Words will never fully describe how much Cerise missed this.

* * *

“Okay, students! Let’s see the results!”

Ramona and Cerise high-fived as they just completed their recipe, Chess Board Cake. Playable, edible, and the sisters were both very much alive. The teacher made their way over and made a delighted squeal.

“This is perfect! You guys did amazing! Oh, wow, this is absolutely a Hood’s cooking skills in it’s best element. Fantastic job as well, Ms. Badwolf. A+ for sure!” They complimented.

The siblings both grinned ear to ear when they left, excited to tell their parents about their accomplishment, and were walking to their dad’s classroom before they were stopped by the Big Bad himself, and it wasn’t the wolf.

“Good afternoon, ladies. Pardon my interruption, but need I remind you of the occurrence that happened the last time you two were seen together?” Headmaster Grimm asked.

“We’re only discussing our grade for Cooking Class-ic, sir,” Cerise nearly lied.

“Oh, to figure out why Professor Badwolf was so insistent to let his daughter attend that class,” He cleared his throat. “Nevertheless, Legacy Day will take place tomorrow evening, so it is not wise to associate with each other. I suggest you separate to ensure that tomorrow will go smoothly.”

Headmaster Grimm then continued to walk and turned down the other hall, and Cerise could hear a murderous growl rise from Ramona’s throat.

“Easy, Ramona. He’s not worth our time, and- Oh Grimm! No, stop punching the lockers, Ramona!

* * *

After school, Cerise had to meet the boys for their scheduled practice, but she seemed to be the only one on time, as usual. Instead, she was greeted by the Dolphus cheerleaders who had been working on their routine. Cerise had found nothing about the male wolves interesting, but rather found the females fascinating in the way that they seemed both friendly and intimidating. 

“For a Hood,” Yesenia started. “You’re pretty fast, don’t you think?”  
“Appearances can be deceiving,” Cerise smirked.

“Almost a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Tempest quipped.

Cerise laughed that off, hoping the girls didn’t recognize her tense attitude behind it.

“You know, Cerise,” Chenoa commented. “We’re hoping you win this game. It would do us a favor. Our school would be a lot better without Leo. He’s not good for the environment, and if you won, well, maybe he’ll finally grow up.”

“Really?” She asked, genuinely confused. They’re rooting for her? The girl who is, by tradition, their enemy? “Wow. I’ll- I’ll do my best!”

They nodded in agreement, and that’s when Cerise spotted the boys and said her goodbyes. As she left, she prayed she could fulfill their wish. Her ambition to be victorious had only grown larger than she ever thought, and if Cerise wants to win, then she _will_ win. For her team, for her school, for her new and unhexpected friends, for her _sister._

She’ll work non-stop to make it happen.

“ _Ella se parece a Ramona_ ,” Xiomara whispered to Yesenia.

“ _¿Ah sí?_ ” Yesenia said with a sarcastic tone. “ _Quizás son hermanas._ ”

“ _¡No puede ser!_ ”

Yesenia rolled her eyes. Xiomara already blabbed one secret to Leo, Ramona did good not telling her another one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is what you can take away from this chapter:
> 
> 1\. Outing someone who isn't ready is a very serious thing and unfortunately, it happens a lot. While it's never happened to me, I know people who have experienced it and it can cause a lot of distress for the victim. Ramona having gone through it shows that she dealt with it by choosing to hide everything that made her who she was, and that it clearly did more damage than good, and that is something I want people to recognize.
> 
> 2\. Yes, Cerise's relationship will be with a man, but that shouldn't mean any less of her pansexual identity. I headcanon her as a pansexual, personally, and in this fic, I decided she would be with Daring. However, I will gladly write other fics which show that she has a relationship with Raven or Cedar <33
> 
> 3\. Trans for anyone who needs it:  
> "She looks like Ramona."  
> "Oh yeah?" "Maybe they're sisters."  
> "It can't be!"


	9. thunder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> am i the only one who forgets how DEEP Ramona's voice is?? i think it's because i watched the latin american version before the english one. i appreciate her deep voice in english A LOT but I ALWAYS forget she has it lmaoo

It was the morning of Ever After High’s New Legacy Day, and Cerise felt more panicked than she did at a bookball game. Cerise was scared out of her mind at what signing meant. Nothing had reassured her, whether it be comforting words from friends or family, a good run in the forest, or just a decent drink from Hocus Latte. She wondered if the same thing was happening to everyone else, too.

Cerise was then approached by Blondie and her sole cameraman, Dexter. It appeared she had been interviewing the student body for her latest mirrorcast, and Cerise was one of the (unlucky) chosen.

There’s an uneasy silence from Cerise, which Blondie responded to by pouting and playing with her fingers awkwardly.

“I’m asking for consent, at least?”

Cerise didn’t think Blondie’s argument was well grounded, but it was always difficult, if not, impossible to say no to Blondie, anyway. Inevitably, Cerise agreed, and Blondie’s attitude changed instantly, a bright smile as she waited for Dexter to record.

“And we’re live in.. 3..2..” He held a thumbs-up.

“Greetings fairytale fanatics! Blondie Lockes here interviewing the students just hours before our Legacy Day event. This function has been keeping everyone on their toes since it’s been over a year since our generation attended the original signing of the Storybook of Legends, so we’re asking students what they think!”

“With me first, is Cerise Hood, daughter of Little Red Riding Hood, one of Ever After High’s rebels. I must say Cerise, something that interests me about a few of the rebels is that some of them _get_ happily ever afters, including you. So, what is your reason for being a rebel?”

“Oh,” Cerise said under her breath. “Well, there’s a lot more factors than just my Happily Ever After, I’m a Rebel because it’s a lifestyle that I want to live and support, and getting eaten by a wolf isn’t as hexciting as it seems. Plus, it works for me because Hunter is a rebel too.”

“Did the revelation between Ashlynn and Hunter make you jealous?” Blondie asked.

“What?!” Cerise blushed furiously. 

“Hunter was supposed to be your Happily Ever After, but then Ashlynn came in and swept him off his feet! Are you happy he’ll be yours again when you sign?”

Cerise was left speechless as the microphone was passed back to her. She knew that Hunter and her were “supposed” to be together, but it was something she didn’t try to push herself on. She never looked at Hunter and thought, _yes, we’re gonna get married in a few years,_ and that was long before being a Rebel was ever publicly considered.

They were interrupted by Cerise’s phone ringing and she reached into her pocket almost too quickly to dig it out. This made Cerise obtain an easy getaway plan.

“Sorry Blondie, gotta take this,” She said, then immediately ran off camera.

Cerise let out a sigh of relief as she answered her phone.

“Grimm bless you, Charming, you just got me out of a possible major fairy fail.”

“Oh,” Daring snickered. “You mean your second horrible mirrorcast with Blondie? Not gonna be a good look on you if this keeps up.”  
“Shut up, Daring,” She blushed embarrassedly.

“Hey, are you free during lunch?” He asked.

“..Yes. Why?”  
“Oh, I was just hoping we could go out.”

“Wait, what?!”

“With the team! With the team!” He added quickly, and Cerise could hear him mutter _“I should’ve said that earlier,”_ before he spoke again.

“Uhm, yeah. We’re just meeting to discuss plays since the big game is only a couple of days away,” He chuckled nervously. “I wasn’t asking you out on a date if that’s what you thought- not that I wouldn’t ever ask you on a date, if you want me to, I will, I think you’re-”

“Daring,” She interrupted him. “Yes, I will go to lunch with you guys.”  
“Cool, all good. See you soon.”

“Okay, we’ll talk later.”

Cerise hung up and didn’t notice how her face had gotten so red during the conversation. She knew he meant well and had only wanted to clear up the confusion. In silence, however, where she could admit things to herself, if he had planned on asking only her to lunch, she wouldn’t have said no.

* * *

Cerise and food, meat in particular, were best friends. She grew up eating everything on her plate and saving the bones because her father always said that they’d be useful for something one day, even if not helpful to her directly. Yet, to her concern, for the first time since who knows how long, Cerise couldn’t eat. Not wouldn’t, _couldn’t._

The boys chowed down on their food, but Cerise failed to even match an ounce of their appetite. She merely picked at her food, but refused to at least take a bite. Was Legacy Day the problem? Or was there something else troubling her? Hunter seemed to notice the poor girl’s state.

“Cerise, you okay?” He asked.

Cerise’s head lifted, and she shrugged.

“I could be better.”

“If this is about what Blondie did, I’m really-” Dexter started, but Cerise interrupted him.

“It’s not that. I can handle Blondie, I just..” She had fallen out of excuses.

Daring appeared to have recognized what was going on when he gave his team a reassuring nod. 

“It’s natural to be on edge right now. This Legacy Day will be a lot more nerve-wracking than the previous one, the rules have only gotten more strict since then, and some of us will be signing away to destinies we don’t want, or don’t even know. I know I’ll go back to being Apple’s prince, but a few of you didn’t get to see what will happen in your story.”

“Dude, do you even want to be Apple’s prince?” Sparrow asked.

“Not even in the slightest,” He chuckled. “It’s Darling Apple’s wanted all along. How could I take that away from her? How could destiny take that away from her? It’s not fair.”

“What about Rosabella?” Hopper asked.

“What about her? We don’t see each other that way. She’s yours if you want her.”

Hopper blushed furiously and stammered something incoherent before turning into a frog.

“While the princess is a magnificent young maiden, and could perhaps love a frog like me, I would never try to win the heart of a girl that my companion was destined for, it is.. How you say.. Bro code.”

The boys and Cerise burst into a fit of laughter. It was so sudden for Hopper to say that in his frog form, nobody could hold back. Once they had relaxed, Dexter and Cerise started giving ideas for game tactics, the others nodding and adding their opinions.

As they discussed their plans while walking back to school, Cerise looked up at the sky, a cloud that she swore was shaped like a wolf’s head staring back down. It sent a chill down her spine for reasons she doesn't know why.

Having arrived, everyone goes to leave for their next class, and Cerise sits in her usual spot for Chemythstry. As Cerise took down the notes, she noticed how..silent it was. There were usually whispers or small giggles from the students but today.. Not so much as a mouse squeak.

It made Cerise feel worse. The way their heads all hung down as they left, and how the halls were gloomier than a rainy day, it reminded her nothing of how bubbly the students were back in second year. Everyone was bright, social, smiling from ear to ear. Now, the comparisons were just too different.

* * *

She felt like a brand new sophomore when the fairies helped her to put on her ancestor dress, and she almost wondered how they found it again. What was really on her mind right now was when they actually put a freezing spell on her. Grimm had been so serious about this, he even told the fairies to freeze the students so they couldn’t escape while changing.

It was an ill-natured, unkind, _evil_ thing to do.

She also thought of how Ramona might be feeling. Excited, probably. This is her first Legacy Day, and throughout her life, she had done nothing but put in all of her effort to play her character, to excel in her villainy classes, all to be the Big Bad Wolf that would make people respect her as a villain. She supposed that even with Rebel in her blood, Ramona still had the spirit of a Royal and would sign in a heartbeat. Even at the expense of Cerise?

She, unfortunately, wouldn’t put it past her.

Cerise is startled by a knock on her door. It opened to show Raven, dressed in her legendary outfit that had started it all. Raven ran in and hugged Cerise tightly.

“I had to come to you, first. I needed to make sure you were alright. How are you?”

“Horrible,” Cerise answered immediately, and she can feel herself shaking. “They didn’t put you in a spell?”

“They’ll let you out of your room when you’re done, but not out of the school.”

“Please tell me you have a solution to this, _please,”_ Cerise begged.

Raven doesn’t answer, only giving Cerise a look of guilt. Cerise couldn’t help but get frustrated and groaned.

“I knew this would all blow up in my face! Of course this would be too good to be true!”

“Hey! You’re not blaming me for anything, are you?!” Raven fired.

“Of course not!” She responded too quickly, leading her to believe Raven knows she’s lying.

In truth, she partly did blame Raven, although not purposefully. Raven was only doing her best, but all of the bottled anger Cerise had tried very hard to hide was resurfacing and Raven had unfortunately been caught in the crossfires. She’s been trying her best to let her emotions flow healthily, but her father and sister’s examples of letting your anger out were.. Not the most effective results. If only she ever saw her mother get angry, then that would be note-worthy, but Cerise’s mother was as calm and collected as the Enchanted Forest.

In the moment, maybe she would have huffed and puffed a house or two down, just to let her anger out, just to know what it felt like. Just to know if it works.

“I need to think right now,” Cerise said. “Can you.. Can you leave, please?”

Raven nodded slowly and walked out the door, pulling it closed. When she heard it click shut, Cerise burst into tears, and she can only hope the room is soundproof. She doesn’t care about smudging her makeup. If it gets ruined and it means she doesn’t have to leave the room, so be it. But it’s wishful thinking, of course. The fairies are already redoing it.

* * *

The moon is high, the stars are twinkling, and the air is cool and peaceful. What Cerise would give to go for a run rather than walk down the aisle to find her seat. As she walked, she spotted her father in one row, and her mother on a complete opposite one. They both gave her a nod, and she received it and nodded back. Just as she got closer, Baba Yaga casted a freezing spell and moved her to sit right beside Hunter and Ramona.

Cerise was already staring at Ramona. Ramona’s outfit is new and never used, a gift of being a woman in a predominantly male family line. The dark hooded cloak that she wore was partly made out of a wolf’s fur, and it nearly touched the ground. The black and grey clothing underneath her pelt is fashionably tattered, and her gloves match her boots with the black and gold accents.

She wondered what it would feel like to wear that. The outfit itself already radiated confidence and the energy of someone who is a natural-born leader, and Ramona to be the one to wear it only boosts that. Would Cerise match that energy if she was the one to put it on instead? 

“Nice hood,” Cerise tugged onto the fabric and whispered.

“Gee thanks, that means a lot coming from you,” Ramona laughed.

Cerise’s arm was hidden underneath her cloak as her hand tightened its grip on her sister’s wrist. Ramona looked at her questioningly in response.

“We’ll get through this. Together,” She promised.

“Together,” Ramona echoed.

She could only hope they were right.

Headmaster Grimm arrived at the podium and proudly announced the start of Legacy Day to everyone in the audience, boasting about how this was for the greater good as his students were forced to sit there silently. He spoke about _destiny this, destiny that_ and Cerise thought she might’ve fallen asleep until he called the first name. 

Everyone’s eyes are on the stage as they watch their peers sign their destiny with or without their consent. Some of them, Cerise noticed, such as the children from Wonderland, weren’t upset when they signed, while others, such as the Royals (of all people!) were practically shaking when they saw their stories playing out.

She watched their emotions with special focus. The way Apple’s eyes started to water, Daring’s crestfallen expression, Briar’s despondent look, Ashlynn’s miserable attitude, and Raven appearing as broken as glass when she stepped up to the book. That’s when she realized that no one wanted to watch what would happen to them without having a choice, without having other options if they didn’t like their stories, without feeling like they mattered. 

All Headmaster Grimm ever cared about was tradition. He didn’t want to see his students happy, he wanted to see them in order, under his control, even if they looked completely depressed. It didn’t matter to him as long as they were following tradition, and that made him a monster.

“And next we have.. Cerise Hood.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> deleted scene from FOE with no context: "And then the Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood gave birth to the baddest bitches alive!"


	10. oblivion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late update, but at least it’s a 3 chapter update! school is starting soon and I’ll be putting more time into that so my posting might be funky, but I’ll do my best to update as quick as I can!

Cerise had stood idly while Hunter signed his destiny, as he had been the transition from the Snow White characters to the Little Red Riding Hood characters, meaning that Cerise and Ramona would get their turn very shortly. When she heard her name being called, she shot one last look at her sister behind her, then walked to the Storybook of Legends.

The Headmaster had followed Cerise closely, and once she had approached the podium, she felt as if her feet were chained to the ground and she lost control of her body. She could only catch a glimpse of Grimm sneaking a wand back into his sleeve before he returned back to his standing place.

“I am Cerise Hood, daughter of Little Red Riding Hood, and I pledge to follow in her footsteps and sign my destiny.”

Once the word destiny trailed off of her tongue, a gray key with an amber jewel appeared before her. She hesitantly took hold of it before placing it into the keyhole. Once the key had turned, she waited for the book to recognize her and show Cerise her destiny. Yet, it seemed to have paused, as if it needed a moment to fully prepare her for what she was about to witness. She had been standing there for what had been too long, already.

Suddenly, the book opened and the pages flipped, and the first page she saw…

Cerise Hood, as the Big Bad Wolf. Dressed from head to toe in a mysterious cloak with tons of fur, her ears out and visible. No, there was no mistaking it. This was _Cerise’s_ tale as the _Big Bad Wolf._

Cerise wanted to throw up on the spot, and desperately. No, no, no! This is the last thing Cerise needed right now! She’s supposed to be the next Little Red Riding Hood as was her mother! She was never meant to inherit her father’s role! That was for her sister! The book was broken, it had to be! This was a mistake!

The pages flipped again, and to her horror, Cerise _Wolf_ was in the forest stalking a girl dressed in a signature red hood, the kind that was specifically made by and for her family, designed exactly as her own with the patterns and red color. The identity of the hooded girl was unrevealed in that page, as it had focused more on Cerise eyeing her prey, but once the page turned..

Ramona was underneath that hood, although she looked unrecognizable. Her makeup was far more natural and light, her hair had been more tame, and her face expressed tranquility. Ramona looked _happy._ Genuinely happy. She was unsure if this scared her or delighted her.

Ramona had been carrying the basket of food for Grandmother, and Cerise’s eyes flashed yellow as she watched Ramona walk down the path. The wolf was hungry, but she didn’t want the basket.

Cerise gulped as she watched her future self storm to her grandmother’s house and attack the old woman, but to her relief, the she-wolf chose to tie and stash her into a closet. Thank Grimm, she wouldn’t have the heart to watch a scene like that. She stole extra clothes that were in the same closet, then crawled into bed and acted as a sick, elderly lady waiting patiently for her granddaughter.

When Ramona arrived, (Holy crap, Ramona needed to be Little Red Riding Hood. How was her sister going to handle this?) she was clueless. She truly believed that the person in the bed was her grandmother, and not a cannibalistic Wolf. The iconic phrases were repeated as they had been for hundreds of years.

 _“My, what big eyes you have!”_ _  
_ _“All the better to see you with, my dear!”_ _  
_ _“My, what big ears you have!”_ _  
_ _“All the better to hear you with!”_ _  
_

But then something changed. Cerise waited for Ramona to deliver the punchline, desperately wanting to get her story over with, waiting for Ramona to point out her teeth, but that’s not what she did. Instead, Ramona said something entirely different and completely unhexpected.

_“Is the Big Bad Wolf so hungry, she’ll eat her own sister?”_

And the pages went blank. When Cerise looked up to see her mirror, it showed her nothing. It was empty, nothing but her own reflection. What does this even mean?! This was far from anything Cerise prepared herself for. Surely this couldn’t mean Cerise has _no_ destiny.. Right?

Even though he was behind her, Cerise felt the scowl on Milton’s face as he waited for her to take the quill and sign. But what _would_ she be signing? For all she knew, the book wanted to tell her that her destiny was to go _poof._ She stared at the empty page, the only print that occupied the sheet was the lined space where she was meant to put her name.

She felt a light tap on her shoulder, and faced upwards to meet Headmaster Grimm’s expression, which looked anything but pleased. She subtly put her arm over the page so he couldn’t see that it was blank.

“Ms. Hood, is there a problem?” He whispered.

_No, sir! It just turns out that I was actually meant to follow in the footsteps of my father this whole time instead of following my mother’s destiny! Isn’t it crazy how I believed that for 10 years and now it’s like I have no idea who I am anymore?! Nope, this is not a problem at all!_

“I..”

“Yes?”

“No, sir. There’s no problem.”  
“Well then, please hurry and finish this.”

She could feel the wanting to yell at him, tell him that everything went wrong, but exposing herself like that would be her dumbest idea yet. Her hand shot up to reach the quill and brought it back down to the page, signing her name in the neatest cursive that she didn’t even think she could do, and her destiny was sealed. _Cerise Badwolf was born._

There was no way to warn Ramona. Just as how Cerise had to figure it out herself, so would her sister, and Cerise would do anything but sit and watch it happen. Ramona had done everything to be just like their father, having nothing but great pride for her parental ancestry.

And just like how Cerise had to have everything she worked for be shredded into bits, Ramona would face the exact same problem.

Cerise slowly made her way down the stairs and sat back in her seat. There was unrelenting apprehension in the pit of her stomach as she thought of how Ramona would react. Both of them went through a decade of playing their roles, and had just started getting comfortable with it. Regardless of whether or not they had plans to follow their paths, it would destroy both of them to have all of that taken away.

She unknowingly held her breath as Headmaster Grimm called her sister to come forth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did y’all know that cerise was a knife-thrower in the very beginning of the creation of EAH? A KNIFE-THROWER?? WHY WOULD THEY TAKE THIS FROM HER??? DONT TALK ME I ANGY


	11. epiphany

Ramona took a deep breath when she heard her name being called. She approached the podium in the most elegant stride she could manage (though she’s not a princess, so we’re not talking much.) The attention of onlookers was a heavy weight for Ramona to hold, but she chose to only focus on the reactions from her parents and Cerise.

Her sister’s gaze threatened to burn Ramona, as if she was in anger, but she also knew that her stare held anxiety, and quite possibly.. _Fear._

“I am Ramona Badwolf, and I am ready to pledge my destiny as the next Big Bad Wolf.”

Part of her wasn’t. She wasn’t ready to pledge her destiny, not with the idea of harming her sister, not with the fact that she would lose Justine once she signed her destiny. She was given a key to unlock the Storybook. It was a soft red key, which Ramona thought was an odd color choice for the Big Bad Wolf, as she expected more of a dull tone.

She reached for her key when she was washed by Cerise’s anguish, which had been so strong that she wasn’t sensing it, she was _smelling_ it. Both her and her sister were able to recognize people’s emotions by their energy, but for them to be able to smell it meant that it had been so strong, it overpowered their other senses, and this was _scaring_ Ramona.

When she looked at Cerise questioningly, Cerise rapidly shook her head as if she was begging Ramona not to open the book, like Ramona had that choice.

She unlocked the book and the cover showed a red hood, the one that belonged to their family. Sure, she had a role in Little Red Riding Hood’s story, but she had other roles too, so why the hood specifically?

The book had opened, showing her the pages of her destiny, and suddenly everything made sense. Ramona had ended up being the next Little Red Riding Hood all along. She wanted to kick back into a chair and laugh about this. Of _fucking_ course she’s her mother’s daughter and not her father’s. She isn’t even surprised anymore, since the world decided _one more thing_ going wrong wouldn’t hurt her. This had meant Cerise had taken her place as being the owner of the Big Bad Wolf destiny, and that is when it really hit her.

She’s not mad at Cerise, she’s _worried_. Ever since she was a child, Ramona was told to drill into her brain that she would not live a long life for the sake of successfully retelling their story, and having that knowledge for so long made Ramona unafraid of death, even if it was going to be painful and slow. But Cerise had never learned to live with that. She grew up with the idea she was going to live a long happy life and get married and have children.

And if Headmaster Grimm plans to make them retell their stories the day after graduation, that would leave Cerise a little over a year to live the way she wants to, and Ramona can guess that her sister hasn’t realized that yet, but once she does, she’ll most likely be freaking out until that day comes.

But will they listen to the book and follow the paths they’re supposed to? How do they explain the destiny switch-up? The entire world sees them as Cerise Hood and Ramona Badwolf, not the other way around. Perhaps they will still follow their planned paths after all. She’ll still be the Big Bad Wolf, and that means Cerise’s future will be safe.

Speaking of which, the book has already turned to the renowned scene of her family’s story. Ramona entered her grandma’s house, unaware that her grandma was actually the Big Bad Wolf dressed as her. Cerise, dressed as Grandma. Ramona loudly snorted, which caught everyone’s attention, Grimm included. He cleared his throat to signal to get her act together, but she brushed him off. Yes, she laughed. How could she not? Her poor sister looked hilarious.

 _“My, what big eyes you have!”_ _  
__“All the better to see you with,”_ She mocked under her breath.

 _“My, what big ears you have!”_ _  
__“All the better to hear you with.”_ _  
_

Ramona nearly did a double take when she heard the story change. Cerise’s counterpart removed Grandma’s cap off the top of her head and said something completely off-book.

“I don’t want to hurt you. I never wanted to, and you know that. So, why did you come?”

Ramona had so many questions from that line alone, and then had millions more when she witnessed the color from the pages fading until it was white, the only thing left was the space where to sign. Her Future Mirror was of no help either, as it appeared as blank and empty as the book. 

So many questions, but the only one that she could ask as demanding as ever was _What The Fuck Does This Mean?_ She doesn’t get an answer. The mirror transformed into a quill and Ramona signed her name to her own dismay. There’s no reaction from anyone except Headmaster Grimm, who congratulated her and shoved her off for the next student.

Ramona headed back to her seat and her wrist was immediately encountered with Cerise’s touch. It was a gesture of trying to reassure her that she knew what was going on, probably, but Ramona pulled away instead of returning it. Now that no one is watching her and she feels like she can think, she’s now angry at the world. She’s angry for this coming at a time so late, but she can’t let Cerise find out. She can’t let her anger cause a fight again.

* * *

Hours went by of students signing the book before Headmaster Grimm could conclude the ceremony, but it was obvious that he was the only one happy about this whole ordeal. He told everyone that signing was “for the good of respecting your bloodline, to know where you came from,” and that he’ll make sure “this rebel nonsense is never even thought of,” but he had already failed. An event as dramatic as this would be spoken of for years, and people will find ways to rebel, just as her parents did.

And what had occurred one too many times for the students’ liking was that Milton Grimm had gotten his way, again. He had won, and no one was going to stop him. 

Ramona had wanted to rip him apart with every word he spoke. The other students might’ve hated him and wanted to see him lose for once, but Ramona wanted him _dead._ It was his fault Ramona and Cerise grew up the way they did, and it was his fault that many of these kids had to be forced into something they didn’t want in the first place.

She bared her teeth as he spoke.

“I am quite pleased with the succession of tonight, and I cannot wait until graduation where I will send you off to relive the stories of the past. Have a spelltacular rest of the evening, everyone.”

He removed the behavioral spell and it’s every fairytale for themselves. Some had been screaming and yelling in terror, others had tried to get in the physical reach of Grimm, and some just sat there crying waterfalls. It’s the most chaotic mess Ever After had seen, loud enough to wake a princess from enchanted sleep or a sleeping giant. 

Not wanting to bear another minute of it, Ramona is the first to get up and run far from the scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if ever after high had an active stan twitter i promise a #miltongrimmisoverparty would've trended by now


	12. solitude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> could y’all imagine if ramona was only cerise’s half sister by father.. the drama luv xx

Cerise began to regret wearing heels as she rushed to catch up with Ramona. Her sister had run off so deep into the woods, the ground hadn’t even been a pathway anymore, as the dirt was just covered with exposed tree roots. She finally spotted her sitting against a log. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Cerise asked as she kicked her heels off. “You ran off pretty quickly.”

“Yeah, why do you think I did?”

Cerise sighed and stood in front of Ramona, who didn’t look back at her.

“This is definitely a pretty big plot twist for us, and we weren’t hexpecting it.”  
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Ramona muttered.

“But have you thought about what this means? Like, I can’t believe I had to wear this stupid hood,” She growled.

“If we knew earlier, I suppose you would’ve worn it, and I know it sounds like torture, but it has its perks. Actually, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be you. As the next Big Bad Wolf.. It doesn’t sound too bad. You know, one time I fell into some Nightmare Fog and-”

“It doesn’t sound _too_ bad?!” Ramona asked.

“I know it’s not a perfect life,” Cerise laughed. “People are scared of you, and you’re more likely to get into trouble, but other than that you don’t actually have it hard.”

Ramona stood up quickly and snarled.

“Of course you would think it’s so easy! You wouldn’t know what it’s like to be forced to live up to people’s expectations and be nothing but a _bully_ _!_ You wouldn’t know what it’s like to be discouraged to show your feelings because that makes you _weak!_ You don’t know what it’s like to pretend your mother is _dead!”_

“Wait, wait. I'm sorry, Mona. I didn't mean to make you angry. I just meant that it looks simple. You're pretty good at handling it, so I assumed it was easy."

“My life is far from easy, Red,” She said more calmly. “Don’t treat me like I know nothing about what it’s like to hide who you really are.”

Ramona turned and started to walk the opposite direction. 

“Hey, where are you going?!” Cerise yelled. “Come back! We have to go tell Mom and Dad what happened!”

“Just.. just tell them without me. Don’t go looking for me, either.”

And then Ramona ran off. She most likely had gotten far enough that her super hearing couldn’t pick up on anything Cerise had wanted to say. Cerise laid back onto a tree, closing her eyes and collecting her thoughts.

And that’s when she heard the sound of footsteps followed by a sinister laugh.

“Well, well, well. This Little Red Riding Hood really _is_ a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Cerise whipped her head around to see Leo with an evil smirk plastered on his face, his yellow eyes glowing under the moonlight. He circled around Cerise as if he had her trapped, and Cerise stood completely frozen. She was terrified because she knew that he had heard a good part of their conversation, and only Grimm knew what that meant for her.

“You know, I had my theories. Hoods are usually meek and compliant, but the first time we met, I didn’t see those qualities in you at all. I guess Hoods aren't too smart though, considering you were loud enough for the whole forest to hear you.”

“What do you want from me?” Cerise trembled, unable to control her voice.

“Aww, so you do see where this is going,” He chuckled. “I’m only asking one little thing from you. Two evenings from now is our big bookball game, remember? My offer is simple. _You’re going to make sure we win._ ”

“What?!” Cerise yelled. “No, I’m not going to-”

“Let me paint a little picture, ‘kay? If you win, I’ll gladly tell the whole world about your little family secret. When that happens, your headmaster will want you dead, Ever After will want you banished, your friends won't want to keep in contact with a outcast, and that stupid puppy you call your captain won’t look at you the same ever again. Is that really worth a trophy?”

“You’re a fucking psychopath.”  
“Blackmail has gotten me where I am today, sweetheart,” He was only a few inches taller than her, but kneeled down to meet her eyes.

“Has Ramona ever told you the real reason she left?” He asked. “...I’ll take the way you’re looking at me right now as a yes. She probably painted me in a bad light, made me look like I did it for no reason.”  
  
“You can’t _possibly_ have even a _decent reason_ for what you did to her.”

“You’re right. Maybe I was just jealous,” He stood straight again and went back to circling around Cerise. “Jealous that she was born lucky. She gets everything handed to her, you’d know a thing or two about that, right?”

Cerise stayed silent.

“I have an older brother, y’know. You and I.. we’re not too different. Our older siblings never lift so much as a finger to get what they want. An important title, popularity, respect even if it means they are feared. What do us younger siblings get? We get the dirty work. We have to struggle and fight to get the bare minimum. It’s hard for us to make friends because everyone is so obsessed with our older counterpart.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cerise lied.

“So you came to Ever After High immediately respected and loved? Or did you have to pretend to be something you’re not in order to get that? All it took was the bat of an eyelash to get on that sports team? Or did you have to actually deal with people’s crap before you finally proved them wrong?”

“We’re not alike,” She said. “I don’t betray people for my own benefit.”

“So then what do you call intentionally losing a game that took your team months of hard work to get into, all so you can protect your secret? Because it sounds like betrayal to me.”

He laughed when Cerise had nothing to say.

“Maybe we’re not alike. Maybe you’re just like your sister. Pathetic, a coward, and I guess now I can add ‘traitor’ to the list. I’ll see you Friday, champ.”

And just like Ramona, he dashed off somewhere where Cerise’s voice will never reach his ears.

Cerise was absolutely _mortified._ Leo knows everything now. It’s more than the championship she'll give up, she's giving up the respect her team has for her, how she would uplift them on their worst days, help them train through sleepless nights, and working all season to help them play the best they could. They wouldn't care about that anymore if they found out she purposefully lost the game. But if she wins, she puts her family, the most important people to her, in lethal threat. Is that even a question for Cerise? Ramona might’ve hesitated to make a decision, but Cerise knew what to do the second she heard it. She puts her family first, she _always_ puts her family first.

Cerise collapsed onto the cold ground, and cried extremely hard. She never fell asleep or went back to Ever After High, but spent the scariest night of her life alone, and awake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if i say leo is my baby boy, i'm referring to freshman leo.. i'll roundhouse kick any future version of him <3


	13. blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: kinda violent but nothing graphic

“And that’s when he found out?” Her father asked.

“Yeah.”  
“So he’s using it as extortion?”

“Yes.”

“Dammit!” He yelled, his fist hitting the desk.

It had been the morning after Legacy Day, and the second she woke up, she went straight to her father in order to discuss last night’s events, and there was quite a bit to talk about.

Speaking of last night’s events, Cerise hadn’t seen her sister since she abandoned her in the forest. In fact, no one else had seen her since last night. She asked a few of her friends, and they all told her that the last time they’d seen her was at the ceremony. Even Justine said that Ramona never returned to their dormitory. This had worried Cerise. Where was she?

“This is the closest Ever After High has gotten to the Championship in years,” He muttered. “What if this is our last opportunity to win?”

“Dad!” Cerise gasped. “Are you crazy? I’m not risking our family’s lives for a trophy!”

“You think we didn’t plan on exposing ourselves already? What do you think we planned to do at graduation? We’re not going to hide forever after, Cerise!” Mr. Badwolf snapped.

“It’s not the same! We’re choosing to reveal our secret at graduation! If he exposes us, he’s taking that away from us! We’re going to suffer because of _him!”_

Silence fell between the two of them, and Cerise sat in one of the nearest chairs, thinking about what she just said. She silently considered what would happen if Leo revealed her secret. Headmaster Grimm would be their biggest problem, of course. They run the risk of Badwolf losing his job and all four of them getting banished. It would’ve been a lot easier to handle if fairytale magic didn’t tie them to their settings. Cerise would be homesick every other minute. She thinks they’d all miss home.

Her father pulled a chair and sat beside her, tossing the hood to fall off her head. He didn’t say anything, only a gentle smile on his face. Cerise sighed.

“Why did the book change our destinies? I thought you said the eldest child gets their father’s role?”

“Magic doesn’t listen to rules. That’s why magic has been treated as a wild substance,” He showed Cerise a quill, and when she held it, it turned into a blackbird and flew up the stairwell. “And of course, the book is made up of pure magic. Maybe it saw something in you that it didn’t see in Ramona, and vice versa. Honestly, your mother guessed that something like this would occur.”

“She did?” Cerise asked, now curious.

“She worded it as if she was joking, but your mother is a smart woman, after all. Maybe she actually thought it was going to happen.”

Cerise bit her lip. She didn’t have a response for that. She had thought about being the next Big Bad Wolf a few times in the past, but the difference was that she was ten and she was jealous of Ramona being able to show off her ears. But now everything in her life has become a mess! Now she has so many problems to deal with! She’s only one kid!

“Reese, you’re breathing too hard,” Badwolf noted. “Hey, you’re not alone, okay? Your problems are our problems, you can share the stress.”

She was mad at herself for finding that easier said than done.

Suddenly, the door swung open and entered none other than Daring Charming, sweating as if he had completed a ten mile race just minutes ago. Her father turned into his wolf form the second he saw him and growled loudly at the prince.

“How DARE you enter my classroom without my permission!” He snarled.

“Dad, dad!” Cerise rushed to jump between the two of them. “It’s okay! He knows already! We can trust him!”

“How trustworthy can the boy be? He’s certainly been raised to act like his father, and he and I did not get along, I’ll tell you that.”  
“Dad!” She chided.

“Okay! But only because he’s a teammate of yours!”

Her father gave Daring the opportunity to speak, but Daring’s words are all messed up and rushed, having nothing sound understandable to the other two. He sounded panicked and exhausted, and that wasn’t helping to build up Badwolf’s impression on him. Cerise can only worry that her father doesn’t rip out Daring’s throat before he gets a chance to properly speak.

“We don’t have all day, Charming!” He complained.

“It’s- it’s your daughter, sir,” He finally said. “Hunter found Ramona in the forest, she’s been injured. She was on the ground. She’s at the hospital, Sir. We think someone attacked her.”

Cerise’s heart _dropped._

Mr. Badwolf immediately reached for his keys and rushed out the door. Cerise ran after him and tugged him by the sleeve.

“Dad, let me go with you!” She begged.

“No! It’s dangerous! You stay here and come when it’s safe. I can’t get you hurt!”  
“ _Dad!”_ Cerise’s throat tightened, tears threatening to spill.

Cerise let out a short gasp as her grip loosened from her father’s sleeve. He freed himself from her hold and ran as fast as he could to make sure she wouldn’t try and stop him again. He had gotten away before Cerise fully realized that he had ripped her hand from him with no guilt.

Cerise had felt like she had been ripped in half. Ramona was hurt, and she believed it was all her fault. _How could she let Ramona get away? How could Cerise not run after her? Why did she not make the effort to see if Ramona got back to the dorm safe that night?_

Cerise dropped to her knees as uncontrollable tears fell and nearly puddled the floor. Daring rushed to her side and hugged Cerise supportively, hoping that he could be of help in this way. Cerise leaned into his chest as she cried.

“Cerise, hey, it’s gonna be okay,” He whispered.

“No!” She yelled. “What if something worse had happened?! What if she got _killed_ ?!”  
“Don’t think like that, she’s okay. She’s alive.” 

“You-you don’t understand,” She said between hiccups. “We- we had a disagreement after Legacy Day.. and she ran into the forest.. I could’ve gone after her, or at least made sure she came back safe.. but- but I didn’t, Daring! And now look what happened!” She continued to sob.

Daring nodded, and reminded her that she couldn’t change the past, but it was going to be okay because Ramona’s alive and she’s not in critical condition, as far as Daring knew. Cerise still needed a few more minutes to calm down, so they sat on the floor, Cerise in his arms as they hugged.

“If you want, I can drive you up there. It won’t be long.” Daring suggested.

Cerise looked up at him, stunned.

“You would do that?”  
“Anything for a friend,” He smiled.

“...Thank you.”

Once Daring managed to excuse them from the rest of their classes, they left the building and got into his car. Daring was one of the very few students in third year that had a license, and he had clearly gotten his hands on a nice car once he was able to drive. When Cerise opened the sun visor’s mirror, she realized how much of a mess she looked. 

“Ah, crap. I look terrible,” She said with a small laugh.

“I can help you get cleaned up, if you’d like,” He offered.

“Oh, I can’t ask you for more favours, you’ve done enough.”  
“Don’t you worry, you’re in good hands.” 

Cerise had passed the spare makeup she had in her purse and Daring got work. He tried his best not to touch her face, but when he had to, he was gentle and careful not to upset her. She’d sometimes meet his blue eyes, and giggle when he’d look away embarrassed. 

“Where’d you learn to do makeup?” She asked.

“It’s a prince’s duty to know how to take care of his princess,” He said.

Cerise’s cheeks had got warm at that sentence, and he cleared his throat when he realized what he said.

“When the time comes, of course. In the meantime, Darling had helped me learn to do makeup. Uh, here. Let me get a hairbrush..”

Daring reached for the compartment and brought out a golden hairbrush with the Charming emblem on the back of the product. Blondie had often advertised the Charming family’s products in her mirrorcast shows, their famous hairbrush one of many. It only seemed right that Daring would have one of his own.

“My father suggests I carry one everywhere I go to keep up my appearance. Luckily, this is a brand new one, so I trust we’ll be able to get perfect results. I’ll just..” He stopped himself, not saying another word and staying frozen on the spot.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

“Ah, your hood.”

“...Oh.”

She knows Daring had seen her ears before-- multiple times, by now-- but she had not yet grown comfortable with removing her hood casually like she did around family. Daring proceeded to hand the brush to her, thinking she’d be more at ease if she brushed her hair herself. But Cerise had wanted to learn to be okay with showing her ears more often around friends, so she let the hood from her cloak drape down her back, her ears in the light once more. Daring paused, as if in thought of a response.

“You look better without your hood on,” He smiled.

She’s surprised by that, so much so that she doesn’t feel her lips curling into a warm smile or the butterflies in the pit of her stomach. At the beginning of the year, she would refer to Daring as a teammate, a colleague, a companion. Nothing more, nothing less. What would she call him now? A trustworthy person? A kind and caring friend? And though she doesn’t want to believe it, an innocent crush? She used to think she knew how to express her feelings and know why she feels the way she does. Now, she’s not so sure.

“That’s.. Really nice of you to say.”  
“You’re welcome. I just think you deserve to hear it. This won’t take long, I’ll be done quickly.” 

* * *

  
Cerise was far from disappointed with the results. The advertisement certainly wasn’t lying when it said the hairbrush would detangle your hair and keep it healthy for practically weeks. Now Cerise knew why she’d been so envious of his sister's hair. 

Once they started driving, Cerise couldn’t help but run her fingers through the soft strands. Whether that was from enjoying her new silken hair or an attempt to calm her nerves, she couldn’t tell. 

“Thanks for everything, Daring,” She said.

“Of course. Do you need anything else? I’m here if you need me.”  
“I’m fine. Don’t worry,” Yet she wasn’t entirely sure if she believed her own words.

“If you wanna talk about what happened, I can listen.”  
“It’s more than what happened with Ramona,” She admitted. “Leo found out about my secret.”

“What?! He did?! What happened?!”

Cerise explained everything that happened during Legacy Day. How the book switched their roles, how Leo found out about it, and how he threatened to spill the truth for Ever After to find out unless Dolphus won that game, and that things would get really ugly if the truth did come out. Daring’s reaction is visible, and loud.

“Are you serious?! He’s threatening your family over the game?! Oh, when I see him- don’t you worry, Cerise! I’ll keep your secret safe, but _no way_ I’ll let that stupid dog win when he blackmailed my teammate to let him. We _will_ win, and your family _will_ be safe.” He promised.

“Daring, are you sure? That’s a big promise.”  
“I’m a Charming,” He gave his signature smirk. “Charming’s are unstoppable.” 

* * *

When they arrived at the hospital, Cerise’s nose picked up something she never thought she could sniff out. _Blood._ There was no mistaking it. She smelled it and what felt so unnatural to her was the immediate sense that the blood belonged to _Ramona._ Her heightened sense of smell was a gift she recognized at a young age, a gift she rarely used. What caused Cerise to suddenly recognize the smell _now?_

“And why are you visiting the patient?” The desk clerk asked monotonously. 

“Visiting a friend is all, as a _Charming_ should.”

The woman immediately blushed as if embarrassed, then frantically typed away at her computer. She was extremely focused on what she was doing until the moment she looked back up at Daring, a huge smile now formed.

“Room 838, on the eighth floor, then turn left at the elevator’s exit. Visiting hours are from eleven to two. I hope I was of service, Your Highness.”

He thanked the woman and they went inside the elevator. Once the doors shut, Cerise scoffed.

“Is that all you have to do? Just tell people your last name and they’ll let you get away with anything?” She asked.

“Honestly, I’m surprised she didn’t recognize me immediately. But, yes, that is how it works. It’s not an ability I like to abuse, but sometimes I need the job done quickly, and that’s the only way how.”

The elevator door opened and it took so much in Cerise to not run to the room, and instead walked at a painful pace. Her heart pounded in her chest, and if she breathed with just the slightest pressure, she thinks she'll be the loudest thing in the hospital. When Cerise saw the bolded numbers go up to 838, she looked down to notice that she had been squeezing Daring’s hand for support.

“Oh my Grimm, I’m so sorry,” She pulled away.

“Ah, you noticed,” He laughed, but almost as if he was disappointed. “Don’t be sorry. Should I escort you in?”

“I think it’s best you don’t go in.”

Daring’s eyebrow rose.

“It’s not that you’re not welcome, but Ramona certainly won’t be excited to have a stranger be near her when she’s vulnerable. I think it does a little damage to her ego.”

“Ah, then don’t let me disturb her. Call me if you need me to pick you up,” He smiled.

“Sure! Uh, I’ll do that. Maybe..Grimm, you've got to stop making me mess up.”

Daring let out an earnest laugh.

“See ya, Red.”

Cerise let out an exhausted sigh when he went back into the elevator. She cleared her mind and turned to the door. She took a deep breath as her hand grabbed the knob and turned it, pushing the door open and now making eye contact with Ramona and their father. Ramona was lying down shortly before Cerise’s appearance, and when Ramona sat up to see her, she held her leg uncomfortably and seethed. Cerise rushed to her sister’s side and kneeled down, even if a chair hadn’t been too far out of reach.

“..What are you doing here?” Ramona asked.

“What am I doing here?” Cerise chuckled. “I’m your sister, I think it’s my job to look out for you.”

Ramona didn’t seem to complain about that. And then the room fell into silence. Normally, when they act quiet between each other, their father would jump in and try to fix whatever happened, but instead, he sat back and watched. 

“How are you feeling?” Cerise said to break the tension.

“I mean, I could be dead. So, not too shabby.”  
“Ramona, don’t say that,” Their father scolded.

“But it’s true,” She shrugged. “So I guess you wanna know what happened.”

“It’d help,” Cerise muttered.

Ramona’s story was quick. After what happened last night, Ramona had spent more time outside than planned and missed the curfew. With the briars covering up the entrances and thus no way to get in, she ended up going back to Hood Hollow and spent the night at a friend’s house. When she left, someone had attacked her from behind and she fainted.

“You don’t know who did it?”

“...Uh, I couldn’t see or smell anyone, so no,” She mumbled. “Anyways, Hunter must’ve found me, I guess I’ll have to go say thanks when I get out of here.”

“That would be the right thing to do,” Badwolf nodded.

And then the conversation conveniently ended there, but Cerise knew her sister best. And she knew Ramona was _lying._

“I’m sorry,” Cerise apologized. “I shouldn’t have let you leave. I should’ve gone after you.”

“It’s whatever, I’m fine, right? Worry less about me, and more about how you’re going to beat Leo’s ass-”

“Language,” Badwolf muttered.

“Kick Leo’s butt at the bookball game,” She corrected herself.

Cerise shot a look at her dad, who whistled a dishonorable tune. Cerise groaned. Here comes the _third_ time she tells this story.

“Yeah, about that..” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? I actually updated? That's crazy, dawg.  
> School has been hectic, that's for sure. Once this fic is done, I'll be interested in publishing more works (that I've already started writing) but I can't imagine the updates with THOSE. I hope you enjoyed the new chapters <3


	14. patience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> red: it's ok to ask for help  
> badwolf: you're not a burden  
> ramona: murder is okay  
> cerise: your feelings matter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly im pretty sure this seems rushed. sorry if you think so too! i felt like I had to crunch time, but I’ll do my best to improve the last few chapters

“You know those things, where you just.. What are they called.. Bucket lists? Things you do before you die? I would like to add ‘commit murder’ particularly with a certain bastard in mind.”

She should’ve seen this coming. Leave it to Leo to not be relevant for five minutes, then come back with a big (and possibly destructive) entrance. Now Ramona felt as if she was the one who should be apologizing. If she had been there, she would’ve made sure he kept his mouth shut about her family, even if it meant she had to get her hands dirty.

“I really am trying to make sure we win and keep our secret safe, but I don’t have any ideas..”

“Kill him,” Ramona growled.

“No!”

It was worth a shot.

Cerise and Ramona argue the topic of murder back and forth before being interrupted by the sound of the door. Everyone is shocked by the person who comes into the room, particularly Ramona.

“Red! You made it!” Badwolf said.

“Of course I did! Why would I ignore my daughter?!” She said as she shut the door.

Cerise took a few paces back as Red came close to Ramona, kissing her eldest daughter’s forehead for what could go on for hours, Ramona's eyes darting away. Her father seemed to have noticed that, too. It goes without saying that Ramona and Red aren’t exactly as close as they were when Ramona was a pup. Cerise promised herself that after graduation, she would fix it. But now, she’ll be lucky if she can make it to grad.

“Mom.. stop..” Ramona whined.

“Is your injury painful? How do you feel? I brought you lunch if you’re hungry,” Red’s hand reached to pull Ramona’s hair behind her ear, and the sound of a slap echoed in the room.

Red slowly pulled her hand back after Ramona slapped her mother’s hand away. Badwolf began to approach Ramona, ready to lecture her, but Red raised her hand, signaling him to ignore what happened.

“I know you loved those pulled pork sandwiches last summer, so I made you some,” Red offered.

“I’m not that hungry.”

“Well, damn, if she won’t eat it, then I-”  
“No, Cerise,” Her father said.

Cerise growled and sat down defeatedly.

“Let me guess, you didn’t tell Mom the whole deal, either?”  
“What? What happened? What didn’t you tell me?” Red questioned her husband.

“You know, I’m really thirsty, how about-”  
“No, Dad,” Cerise said.

Badwolf growled and took his wife’s hand as he then retold the story.

* * *

“I think that the destiny switch was just another sign that maybe this secret needs to stop being a secret,” Red admitted.

“What?!” Cerise asked.

“I agree. If that Storybook has as much magic as the original one that the Evil Queen stole, the fairytale magic could mess you guys up for sure. Your personalities could switch, Cerise might start acting more Wolf and Ramona might act more Hood. The secret will spill out either way,” Badwolf reasoned.

“But-”

“I’m tired of this dumb secret, but I don’t want people knowing we got our destinies switched. Faybelle will bully me for _weeks,”_ Ramona added.

“Does NOBODY understand the consequences of what happens when we tell the world?!” Cerise yelled.

The room fell silent, all eyes on Cerise.

“Why do you think we kept our secret in the first place? If people found out, they would banish us at least, or Headmaster Grimm could do something far more horrid! But suddenly, now it’s okay we just go tell anyone?!”

“It was different back then, Reese. Being a rebel wasn’t normal, it was something evil and horrible. There’s still discrimination, but nobody’s getting banished anymore.” Badwolf said.

“Yeah, they can’t banish a group of teenagers. Try a married rebellious couple with two kids who will mess up everything Milton’s been trying to protect for centuries.” 

“I don’t get it, Little Red,” Ramona scoffed. “You of all people should be on board with this, you’re the one always complaining that life isn’t fair, and now we’re giving you an opportunity to be yourself, and suddenly it’s a problem? What happened?”

“YOU’RE GOING TO GET HURT BECAUSE OF ME!” Cerise yelled. “When you used to tell me and my sister what would happen when we let our secret out, you described it as nothing better than a Happily Ever After! You wanna know what Leo said would happen? He said Headmaster Grimm would want to kill us and the rest of the land would want us gone! And you know what?”

Cerise laughed hollowly.

“He’s right! That stupid asshole is absolutely right! We are going to lose everything! And it’s going to be because I would rather win a stupid trophy than protect my own family! I don’t wanna do that! I don’t wanna be a monster!”

Cerise sobbed as she fell into her mother’s comforting embrace. Cerise felt hopeless. She felt lost. Even if she protects her secret now, she’s still going to be sent to a life where she’s unhappily following a predetermined path, whatever path that even is anymore. Her father met her with a pat on a back and a soft hug, but it wasn’t enough.

“Can Cerise and I be alone for a minute?”

Everyone turned to Ramona, and their parents obliged to the request, leaving swiftly.

“I don’t want to add insult to injury.. Is that the phrase? Fuck it, point is, I lied. I’m.. I’m not fine, Red. Shit, I really do think I’m going to die.”

“What did you lie about?”

Ramona pulled her hair back over her ear, and Cerise’s jaw dropped. Ramona’s right ear was halfway missing, and if Cerise looked closer, she could see more of it slowly starting to fade away. At first, she feared that someone had cut off her ear or something, but there was no sign of blood. No, her ear was literally disappearing.

“Holy shit..” She muttered.

“It’s the book,” Ramona said. “Ever since we signed, my body’s been fading away. I’m not sure how long since my ear started, but I know that my leg came around this morning.”

Ramona then revealed her right leg, and the skin between her knee and her ankle was as clear as glass. It was indeed see-through. Did this mean Ramona was disappearing?! Was she…

Going _poof?_

“The more that it fades, the more it hurts,” She admitted. “The pain was really bad on my way back to school. I couldn’t.. I couldn’t walk. I think that’s when I passed out. Curses, it’s taking away all of my magic, too. I can’t hear far away anymore, I can’t run fast anymore. I don’t..”

“Does Dad know?!”

“I asked the nurse not to say anything, to let me explain. But I don’t think I can. I just.. I can’t imagine what it would be like if I told them.”

“What do you mean?”  
  
“Don’t you know your own parents, Red? Why else do you think I didn’t want Mom to touch my hair? They’re going to flip. They’re going to blame themselves. They’re going to think that this is their fault. That we were already destined to disappear when we were born. We already told them about the mirror. I can’t see them act like that.”  
  
The mirror, Cerise thought. This is what the mirror has been trying to tell them. That they were going to become nothing. That they were going to disappear. 

“Shit, shit, shit..”

It wasn’t like the hooded girl to swear so much. Why wasn’t her brain connecting the dots faster?! And why was Ramona fading unlike Cerise? Her body was completely here, and she still had her powers. Grimm, what the hex now?! What’s the point of doing anything if she and her sister are just going to go poof anyway?!

“I’m tired, I’m tired.. I hate it here,” Cerise said, trying her hardest not to cry.

“Is everything okay in here?” Their father called as he opened the door.

Ramona immediately covered her disappearing features and Cerise hid underneath her hood to try and hide her despaired expression. He was none the wiser. A nurse had then come in and started speaking to Badwolf, leaving him distracted.

“You don’t have to deal with this on your own,” Ramona whispered. “You know, maybe we’ll never have a Happily Ever After. Maybe we’re just destined to die. That’s sometimes the way it is, Red. Just go out there at that game and play your hardest, win or lose. Even at the worst case scenario, we’ll be there with you. All of us.”

“You know what, if we’re gonna die, go tell that blonde boy you have a big fat crush on him.” She added.

“I-! Ramona!!”  
“Oh, so you’re not gonna deny it? Do you admit it? Do you admit you like him?”  
“Shut up!”

“Ramona!” Red called as she entered the room. “You have a visitor!”

Justine rushed into the room and ran to Ramona the second she caught eye of her.

“Oh my goodness! You’re okay! Oh, I was so worried! You didn’t come back last night and you didn’t answer your phone, I was scared out of my mind. And, oh! Hi, Cerise! Hi, Ms. Hood!”  
  
“Hello,” They replied monotonously.

“I can see why Cerise is here, but Ms. Hood is a little unexpected. Are you secretly family friends or..?”

“More like secret family,” Ramona said nonchalantly.

“ _Oh,”_ Justine’s eyes widened. 

“Ah, I haven’t introduced them to you either,” Ramona cleared her throat.

“Mom, Dad, and Cerise already knows about you, this is Justine Dancer. She is my gorgeous and talented roommate, and also my girlfriend,” She planted a kiss on Justine’s lips.

Badwolf and Red’s jaws _dropped._ Cerise couldn’t help but snicker at their reaction.

“I’ve decided that on my new and improved bucket list,” Ramona whispered to Justine. “That if I’m going to die, I’m going to die with no secrets.”  
“You’re going to die?!” Justine almost said too loudly.

“It’s a long story, babe. We’ll talk about it after my painkillers. So do I start with how my parents met or-”

Ramona didn’t get to finish as Red and Badwolf stole Justine in a tight bear hug, clearly enthusiastic to learn about the first partner from one of their daughter’s. Ramona then chastised them to not bother her so much, but she knew she would be ignored. Red and Badwolf grew attached to Justine in seconds.

Cerise smiled genuinely for the first time in a while. She wants to be able to give her family a good ending, she wants to put a stop to this evil. She wants to grow old and tell herself she lived a good life. She wants the exact same for everyone she loves.

But for now, even with everything so unclear, the good moments like these will last in her memory for however long she lives. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don’t think Justine would freak about Ramona’s family. I think she’d be having a lot of silent thoughts and just try to understand the situation, she’s not really one to freak out if you ask me


	15. whispers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY THIS UPDATE TOOK SO LONG!! Honestly, I went through some writers block, but now I’m trying my best to upload as soon as this week! I apologize if you thought I didn’t plan on uploading :)

**Ramona: mom said you looked really nervous when you left**

**Ramona: you gonna be okay?** **  
****Cerise: Yeah I think so**

**Cerise: I wish you came to see the game tho :(**

**Ramona: me too red**

**Ramona: as long as u shove leo’s face in the dirt i’ll be there in spirit**

**Cerise: Lmao**

**Ramona: k i don’t wanna sound corny or whatever but pls just take care of urself. go break a leg at the game but don’t do it literally- fuck it you know what i mean**

**Cerise: Don’t worry I get it, we’ll talk soon :)**

**Ramona: hey**

**Cerise: What?** **  
****Ramona: ily**

**Cerise: ily too**

Cerise sighed once the conversation ended. She had hoped that it would last longer, just so she could keep her mind off of the game. For once, she wished not to be alone with her thoughts. They were the reason she couldn’t get a wink of sleep all night, but maybe that was for the best. She couldn’t risk more nightmares. The first one was more than enough. 

Cerise then turned her head, hearing the sound of Cedar rise from her bed. The wooden girl greeted her roommate with a bright smile, oblivious to Cerise’s troubles.

“Morning, Cerise! Excited for your big game today?”  
“‘Excited’ is a.. Generous word to use.”  
“Well, I’m no cheerhexer, but I’ll cheer you on as hard as I can!”

Cerise smiled warmly at Cedar’s enthusiasm. 

“Thanks, Cedar. I could use it.”  
  


The morning was a bit easy for Cerise. She was constantly surrounded by others, giving her encouragement to do her best at the game. After all, this was the championship play. If they don’t win, who knows when they’ll come close to an opportunity like this again? The idea made Cerise feel nauseous. She wants to live up to their expectations, and she wants to win. She does. It’s in her blood to be competitive.

But is it in her blood to do something as extreme as to sacrifice loved ones to win?

“Excuse me, Ms. Hood. Can you step into my office for a second?”

Cerise stopped in her tracks and identified the familiar voice of her father. He ushered her into his room and shut the door. Once there were no witnesses, he wrapped his arms around his daughter and gave her a comforting hug. She almost wanted to cry. She felt so stupid for not being able to make a sure decision any quicker. How could her family be so understanding?  
  
“Whatever decision you make, we will _always_ love you,” He told her.

“What if I make the wrong one?”  
“As long as our family is together, there is no wrong decision.”

_But our family isn’t together,_ she wanted to say. Her mother went back to Hood Hollow, her sister was in the hospital, and she knows he’s trying his best, but her father won’t be able to glue this family together for forever after. So in the end, no option is really a “right option”.

While Cerise was with her father, she noticed how he consciously looked down towards her wrist repeatedly. When Cerise left, she pulled down her sleeve and noticed that her right wrist was looking translucent. The clock was ticking, and she was losing a lot of time.

* * *

Cerise made it to the field after school and waved to the team who all met her with positive phrases and smiles, and they told her that they’re going to look out for her this game. At first, Cerise was a little concerned. Do they know?! Although, Daring read Cerise’s expression well, and whispered that he only told them that she’s nervous and needs some assurance.

It seemed decent enough of a cover-up, so she thanked him and the team did one last cheer. This really was the make or break of her bond with this group. Before, they just saw her as a damsel who didn’t deserve to play on an aggressive sports team with a bunch of boys, but now, they saw her as an equal, as their secret ace, as a friend.

She would never know what would become of their view of her until the secret was out.

“Cerise, wait up!”

Daring ran after the hooded girl and caught her attention. When she saw Daring, she could feel the butterflies in her stomach return. Had it always been like this? She’s gotten butterflies in the past, usually before a presentation, or before fessing up to something she lied about, something that made her nervous. These butterflies weren’t like that. They were.. Nice to have.

“Can we.. can we talk?”  
“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Is everything okay? How are you feeling? How’s Ramona?”  
  
“Well, it could be better,” She sighed. “I really don’t want to let you guys down, but I need to protect my family, too. It’s… it’s too much, Dare. But Ramona’s fine, I think. She doesn’t seem too affected by her.. Injury.”

“You hesitated.”  
“Huh?”  
“You hesitated to call it an injury. I’ve been around you for a while now, I notice when you’re not being honest with me. Cerise.. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” She lied.

“That’s not true.”  
“I said nothing is wrong.”  
“Cerise-”

“ _It’s none of your business!”_ She yelled, her eyes flashing yellow.

Cerise bit her tongue when she noticed the way Daring flinched, and maybe even took a step back. Why did she do that? She.. she never got angry with someone so visibly, or so.. Mean. This wasn’t something Cerise would ever do. This was something _Ramona_ would do.

“I believe you,” She heard Daring reply.

“If you say it’s nothing,” He added. “I believe you.”

Not even Cerise herself had a reason to lie. She could trust Daring, why did she lie? 

_The same reason you lied to your parents and to your friends,_ she thought. She didn’t want to worry them. They all have their own problems already, what good of a person will she be to make others solve hers? Daring knows too much about her issues already, he doesn’t need to know another. But it hurt so much to see him walk away knowing Cerise was lying.

She couldn’t feel those butterflies anymore.

* * *

Once it started to get dark, everyone set off to the change rooms to get their sportswear on. While the boys all had to share a locker room, Cerise never worried about that. Thank Grimm, honestly. She thought it would be a pain to hide her ears while changing near another girl.

Cerise stared at her reflection in the mirror, and pulled her hood back. Her ears almost looked excited to be out in the light, adjusting themselves to avoid anything that might shun them away. Keeping her hood on at all times had become her lifestyle, something she had done since she could remember. Taking it off felt like a process of its own, and she wasn’t sure if learning to live without it was too big of a step to take.

“Hi, Cerise,” A familiar voice called.

Cerise is often approached by friends before a game. Raven, Maddie, Cedar, even Ginger or Rosabella once upon a time would stop by to give her words of encouragement. She expected many, but not once did she ever expect Justine.

“Oh, hey,” Cerise muttered lamely.

“I know you weren’t expecting me, but I thought I’d come by...Ramona told me everything.”

“I thought she would, it must be nice confiding in someone with these things.”

Justine sighed and took a seat on the nearest flat surface. Cerise paused tying up her hair to hear what Justine had to say. There was something interesting about Justine that made Cerise drop everything to learn more about her. Justine appeared delicate and fragile to anyone, but she could prove herself bold and independent. She was a real fighter.

Ramona couldn’t have chosen anyone better to let into her heart.

“You look so much like her, I’m surprised no one notices it.”

Cerise snapped back into reality now that her thoughts were interrupted.

“No one would take the time to see that, I guess,” She said. “I’d say I’d look like my dad, too, but I guess that one’s more obscure since he’s a wolf more than human.”

“Speaking of your family, I heard they don’t know what’s happening to your body.”

“..No. We intend to keep it like that until it’s too late to hide.”  
“But shouldn’t they hear it first? They deserve to know.”

“ _I said we’re not telling them!”_ There it was again. She let her anger control her first.

She expected Justine to get scared, to at least have a frightened expression, but Justine didn’t react in the slightest. It was almost as if she hexpected it, honestly.

“Ramona snaps easily,” She revealed. “I’m used to it, I know that she can’t control her anger well, which is why I’ve been helping her learn to be more patient. I see it’s starting to get to you, too.”

“Well, how do I make it stop? I can’t keep getting angry like this. I already yelled at Daring and now at you, I can’t let this get worse.”  
  
“It’s not something you learn overnight, Cerise,” She explained. “It takes days, even weeks, to see improvement.”

“But I don’t have days! I have to control this before it’s too late!”

“When you’re out in public, are you honest with who you are as a person?”  
“Huh?”

Justine smiled.

“I don’t mean it in a literal sense,” She explained. “But do you show your true personality, act the way you believe is right, and say what you think deserves to be heard?”

“Not all the time, otherwise people would figure me out too soon.”  
  
“I think your anger relies on your jealousy. You want to be who you really are, but you know you can’t. You have to start showing others the _real_ Cerise Hood. You don’t have to start headstrong with it, but if you really want to stop hiding through your anger, you should go out there and be the best person _you_ can be. Go out there and represent what you believe in.”

Those words had resonated perfectly. It had all made sense as to why Cerise liked to be around Justine. She was honest with who she was and knows what she wants, thus she’s able to teach others what they don’t see or understand themselves. She was almost the opposite of Cerise, and that was what made her so interesting. After their helpful conversation, Justine left Cerise so she could finish getting ready, but added another comment.

“Your ears are very cute, by the way.”

It made Cerise smile. A compliment that would never get old. Once Cerise had the room to herself, she pulled her hood back up and made a reassuring nod. She’s going to be honest with who she is, and that should start with her feelings.

Cerise walked out of the locker room and could spot the blond prince from a mile away. Even after his self-centered phase, he never stopped looking like a spotlight was shining down on him. She met him with a tap on his shoulder, in which he responded practically surprised to see her approach him. 

“Hey, Red,” He greeted.

“Hey, Dare..”

A tense silence fell between them.

“Listen, I-”  
“Cerise, I really like you.”

On a scale of one to ten on how crazy her day has been, Cerise would finally like to rate it a thirteen. There were plenty of sentences she’s heard that have blown her mind, but this was by far the craziest thing she’s ever heard _in her life_.

“I-I’m sorry, what?”

“I know that this is really bad timing, and you’ve got a lot on your mind already, but no matter what happens, I just want you to know that I’ll always support the decisions you make. I don’t know if you’re still angry with me, and if you are, that’s fine, but even so, I’ll always love you, and I’ll always think about how brave and strong you are. You’ve been the most amazing person that has stepped into my life, Cerise. So, I don’t care if we lose tonight or not. I just want you to be happy.”

Cerise had never been left as speechless as she was that moment. It had been the strangest experience in her life. Someone had fallen for _her._ And not just any “someone,” _Daring Charming_ was the one to fall for her. Was this a dream? It had to be, right? How was it possible that she liked someone.. And they _liked her back?_

“Alright, champs! The game starts now! Everybody get on the field!” Coach Gingerbreadman called.

Daring gave Cerise an honest smile, and that sent those butterflies right back. It wasn’t one of his flashy, over the top, make you go blind smiles. It was a warm and kind smile that made her heart practically melt.

“I don’t need an answer back,” He said. “I just wanted you to know that I’ll be here for you every step on the way, no matter what.”

Daring then joins his brother as they walk to the match and that gave Cerise a minute to be with her thoughts, leading her to think about every relationship she’s ever had with others. How close and inseparable her family was to her, her friends that had always cheered her on and made her feel important, and even those that she would only refer to as acquaintances were important to her because they mattered to her, too. She can’t let them down.

She knew what she was going to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can't believe that my story is gonna end soon.. also, happy late birthday cerise!! (and ramona? rlly rude they didn't give us her birthday) i was hoping to update for your birthday but i couldn't :( please continue to look out for updates, everyone!


	16. champion

The stadium cheered as Dolphus Academy made their debut on the Ever After High field, accepting the roar of praises like it was spoonfed.

Coach Gingerbreadman was giving his team his last words before he sent them off to play. A pep talk was something they all needed right now. Legacy Day had not been the students’ best day and they could really use a Championship win to feel better.

If only they knew what it would cost.

“Remember, they are all very fast, and a few are very strong. A single tackle could land you in a hospital bed. You have to throw them off.”

Cerise was annoyed by how loud the cheering from the opposite side was. Cerise glanced over the stadium to see many different werewolves lined up against the seats, and watched Dolphus as they waved to the crowd. A lot of those from Ever After were in the stadium as well, but the energy they owned was different than the wolves, and Cerise knew this by heart. Wolves were just far more energetic, far more athletic, and competitive. 

And Cerise was going up against 7 of them.

“You got this, Cerise!” Daring whispered to her as they’re called to line up.

Cerise held her breath as the noise grew louder with its cheers once the announcer had started speaking. She grabbed hold of her helmet, ready to put it on, when she made eye contact with the worst person she’s ever met in her life.

Leo stood quite close to her, smirking as if he just told her something funny. She didn’t hesitate to snarl and let her eyes tell him what needed to be heard. Her aggressiveness towards him did not give her a reaction. He watched in an unexpressive attitude, then leaned closer to her.

“Heard about your sister. I knew she could be clumsy, but that was unfortunate.”  
“I don’t want your sympathy, asshole.”

“And I don’t care if you asked for it,” He said more harshly. “I hope you remembered our deal, pup. I don’t plan on going back on my word.”

“I _will_ kill you after this,” She threatened.

“You’ll have much bigger problems to worry about when this is over,” He snarled as he walked away.

She wasn’t going to let him be right about that, that’s for sure. Cerise threw her helmet on and ran to her position. And then someone blew the whistle.

* * *

“That’s it, I’m taking a nap. Wake me up when a team ISN’T tying,” Martina threw her pom-poms on the ground and sat on the bench. 

That was how the game went for an hour by now. Both teams were constantly catching up to each other. If one team made a point, it wasn’t long before the other one made a matching number. Neither team scored past the other for very long. Everyone playing had broken out a monstrous sweat, having the time of their lives in this bookball battle. Only one of them could win this Championship, and the other will leave empty-handed after working hard all season. It was a fate no one wanted.

It’s either Cerise or Leo making touchdowns, the others were only used as passing turns. There’s cheering and booing with every score, and it has become no more than a painful headache much to Cerise’s disappointment. She then chose to ignore the score count, but it seemed she ignored more than she hoped, because out of what she thought was nowhere, they called a sudden death play.

As they got into their positions, Leo purposefully brushed past Cerise’s shoulder and muttered to her:

“So, what’s it gonna be, Hood? Or should I even call you that?”

That made Cerise angry, but she knew better than to comment back. She had to focus on the plan before anything else. Daring’s lined up to have the ball, Dexter behind him, and Cerise on the angle which Dexter can throw the ball overhead. As long as Daring got the ball, Ever After High would win. That was to the audience’s knowledge. But really, as long as Leo didn't scare Cerise into letting him steal the ball, _then_ Ever After High would win.

The referee blew the whistle and Daring snatched the ball in an instant, who passed to Dexter, who then threw it overhead to Cerise. The ball is high, and Cerise ran to the spot it would drop. Leo trailed right behind her, and growled as if he posed a threat to Cerise, and in that moment, _he was_ . The ball was in the air, and if Cerise caught it, nothing could possibly break her stride. If she caught that ball, it would be a new life for Cerise. A reality where her family was public news and her secret would be _gone._

The audience went dead silent. The ball was about to hit the ground. Leo jumped high in the air to steal it first, and while it was high enough to grab, he wasn’t _close enough._

Cerise didn’t miss and tightly caught the ball. Everyone screamed as Cerise ran past the opposing team at a blinding speed, down towards the end-zone, then slamming the ball to the ground, making the touchdown that declared history for Ever After High’s bookball legacy. The Championship belonged to _them._

“Cerise Hood scored the winning touchdown! The Bookball Championship officially goes to Ever After High!” The announcer declared.

Cerise howled proudly, her teammates rushing to congratulate her, and even some of the Dolphus boys came to celebrate with them. Everyone was excited for Ever After High, except you know who..

Leo huffed, Leo puffed, and looked like he was about to blow Cerise’s secret down.

But once again, he just didn’t come _close enough._

Cerise ripped her hood off, and her ears were now there for the world to see. She might’ve been the focus of the game right now, but she had become the focus of _all of Ever After._ Cameras recorded, and people watched. It’s dead silent, and all Cerise could hear was her heartbeat. She really hadn’t thought about what would happen this far. People would piece two and two together, so she didn’t plan on spelling it out. Everyone just.. Watched.

“Attagirl, Cerise Hood!” She heard Justine and Daring call out.

The cheering had then been echoed by her teammates, and even the Dolphus team, and soon enough, the _entire_ stadium was cheering her name. The jumbo mirror reflected the situation live, and Cerise was just in awe. Nobody hated her, judged her, or threatened to do something to her, they all.. _Supported_ her. 

She was startled by someone poking her shoulder, and when she turned, her family was behind her, Ramona standing right there, crutches in hand. _She did come. I knew she would._

There are no spoken words. Ramona only pulled Cerise into the tightest hug imaginable and her parents followed. The news is completely out now. This is _her_ family, and she is proud as hex about it. She doesn't care that she can already imagine Leo’s disgusted looks as everyone applauded, or how she heard Headmaster Grimm stomping onto the field. She only turned around once Leo’s voice bellowed out.

“How can you guys support this?! You support.. Half-breeds?! How can you think this is okay?!”  
“This rebellious act has _broken the rules!_ ” Headmaster Grimm chimed in. “I have half a mind to-”

“But you won’t. Not anymore.”

Cerise gasped as Giles Grimm, Milton’s younger brother, appeared. He gave Grimm a stern look, and then met Cerise and her family with a friendly one. He cleared his throat and began to speak.

“Milton, without a doubt, you’ve taken things too far. You don’t have a care in the world for these kids. You only care about yourself. I.. I thought that you had grown. You couldn’t have possibly expected to hold on to these stories forever! I can’t watch you destroy these children’s futures anymore!”

“You have no right to criticize me! How could you say these things when you and I BUILT these stories and are forced to watch everything fall apart! I’m the one who’s trying to fix everything!” Milton yelled.

“But you are forcing them to do things against their will! You forced them to sign on documents against their own control, Milton! That’s breaking the rules!”

“Do you know what else is breaking the rules, Giles? THEIR EXISTENCE!” He pointed in the direction of Ramona and Cerise.

Neither girl could help but snarl at his comment, which caught the attention of everyone. Milton laughed sarcastically.

“Look at them, they’re an abomination.”

“They are not!” Someone from the crowd yelled.

Everyone froze as the person who spoke came closer to the Grimm brothers. It was Daring who said that.

“Just because their parents are not as we thought they were does not mean that Ramona and Cerise have changed in any way! They are still the same people they were since we met them! How can you say such awful things about them only now that you know the truth? You’re the abomination here, Headmaster Grimm!”

“He’s right!” Cerise’s teammates yelled.

“Yeah!” And other cheers of agreement followed them.

“Fuck off, Milton!” Faybelle yelled.

“Yeah, fuck off!” Raven repeated.

“I agree with the message, but I’d like to use politer words!” Apple said.

The audience began to throw insults at Milton, who grew red in fury.

“You can’t say these things to me, I am your Headmaster!”  
“Actually, we’ve chosen that you resign effective immediately,” Giles added.

No words could ever describe how dumbfounded Milton looked that very second he heard that sentence. Cerise could even recognize how difficult it was for Ramona to hold back from throwing a fit of laughter.

“Excuse me?”

“According to the Rules and Regulations, section 648, it is lawful to survey the staff of our high school regarding whether we believe you should resign from your position. And as for the count..”

Giles dropped a list of signatures that was much longer than him, and the whole audience gasped in shock. There was no mistaking it. _Every member of the staff at Ever After High had signed._

“No! I won’t allow this!” Milton screamed.

His protests had only caused the situation to get worse, as police had even come to collect him and drag him away. Ever After High would be getting more than just an addition to their bookball legacy tonight. This night was sure to impact the history of all of Ever After.

Chaos ensued shortly afterwards, but that was to be expected. A lot had to be taken in, what with the most rebellious family in Ever After being revealed to the public and a prestigious headmaster being arrested. Giles promised to handle it and that they wouldn’t have to worry, so all of Cerise and Ramona’s close friends came around to support them.

“Cerise, your.. Your stomach!” Daring yelled.

Cerise looked down, and froze when she saw that her stomach was slowly becoming nothing but an outline. A see-through part of her body. She might’ve exposed her own secret, but this wasn’t going to stop the book from paying back the damage her parents did. She knew the price, however. She knew that she would disappear, regardless of her decision. 

There was so much more she wanted to do with her life, though. Now she knew how Ramona felt all these years. She still wanted the joy of pursuing a career path, raising her own family, living until she looks like Grandma Hood and she can tell stories to all the little Hoods of her family (maybe the little Wolfs, too) about her adventures.

She felt a small tear form and fall from her eye.

“I think I can be of help,” A voice suggested.

She turned to see Giles Grimm with the Storybook of Legends in his hand. He opened it, revealing the pages of the students, their names signed in ink. He chuckled as the pages started to glow a light of gold.

“This book was recreated by the magic that was still left from the previously destroyed book, but it was also recreated by manipulative magic that my brother used. I believe that his magic has infected you, but you must remember that you signed this book with it’s real, living magic still inside.”

“What does that mean?” She asked.

“It means,” He flipped to Cerise’s page. “That you have not yet seen what the Storybook of Legends has truly chosen for you.”

“But, I already signed my name, doesn’t that mean the book has determined me committed to a role already?”  
  
“Not officially,” He summoned a spell that had removed the pages from the Storybook of Legends and turned them into small parchment, and they all flew towards the students of Ever After High. Cerise took hold of hers, and suddenly, the material bursted into color, and her real future was shown before her.

It showed Cerise at graduation, the biggest smile on her face as she threw her cap into the air, surrounded by her family and friends. She looked so happy here. It showed her celebrating with her sister, and living her best life. When it appeared as if the ceremony had been over, there was a colorful outdoor scenario, but nothing came after that.

“I don’t get it,” She said. “There’s nothing after this.”

“That’s because a piece of paper should not tell you what your future is,” He said. “And that applies to all of you!” He shouted. “You should not let anyone tell you who you are destined to be, what story you are meant to retell! You are all born, unique, special, and full of possibilities!”

“And all you have to do is sign,” He said less loudly. “Sign to promise me and everyone around you that you will live under no one’s shadow, or retell anyone’s story. That you will live as Cerise Hood before anybody else.”  
  
A quill appeared before her, and she didn’t think twice. She happily signed and the parchment flew into the air along with several others and disappeared into a firework display.

“Cerise!” Ramona yelled.

Cerise jumped for joy when she noticed that Ramona’s entire body was back to normal, and when she looked down, her body had also returned! They shrieked in laughter as they hugged each other tightly and playfully. Grimm, it felt so good to be back. To be free of her problems, to be happy.

They paused, however, when Ramona had noticed Leo sitting on the bench, looking utterly defeated. Cerise wasn’t sure what she was going to do. She couldn’t let Ramona punch him another time, that’s for sure. Ramona took a step forward, and Cerise instinctively held out a hand to stop her.

“Don’t worry,” Ramona whispered. “I just wanna talk.”  
“You promise?”

“Yeah, I promise.”

Cerise watched Ramona walk over to Leo. Leo raised his head, meeting eyes with Ramona, and he scoffed.

“What? Are you gonna hit me or something? Just get it over with.”  
“Grimm, does everyone think I like to beat people up?” She muttered.

“Fuck that, I’m here to tell you I forgive you for being an asshole,” She started.

“I didn’t apologize,” He grumbled.

“You did, actually. You looking like a pathetic idiot right now is an apology big enough for me.”

“Just leave me alone.”

“My girlfriend knows what you did to me,” She ignored him. “And she knows that I’m trying to learn to let go of it. She told me that I’ll forget about you when I get my closure, so here I am, getting it. Fuck you for not keeping your promise, and fuck you for trying to mess with my sister.”

Ramona took a deep breath and started to walk away from him.

“You’ve always been better than me, and I resented you for it.”

Ramona swiftly turned her head back to Leo.

“I’m sorry?” She asked.

“I told everyone about your secret because I wanted them to have a reason to dislike you. I hated that you had everything better than me and everyone liked you, so my brother got some ideas in my head, and then I tried to take things even farther with tonight. I know I still look like an asshole, but I guess you should know the reason why I did it since I’ve got nothing to lose anymore.”

Ramona froze, unsure of a response. She then gestured for Cerise to come by, and Cerise hesitantly did as her sister asked. Ramona then pointed to Cerise.

“Apologize to her,” She ordered.

“Excuse me?”  
“I don’t give a fuck if you don’t apologize to me, but I’ll be damned if you don’t apologize to my sister. You messed her up real bad these couple of days, and you _do not ever fuck with my family. Apologize to her.”_ _  
_

“Mona, it’s okay-”  
“I’m sorry, Hood.”

Cerise was taken aback by the fact that he actually did as Ramona said, but Ramona still looked displeased.

“Her first name,” She snarled.

“I’m sorry, Cerise,” He apologized. “That was a shitty thing to do and I’m apologizing for it.”  
“You don’t have to forgive him,” She pulled Cerise close and whispered. “You can beat him up if you want.”

“This is why everyone thinks you’re too violent for your own good,” Cerise noted. “And I’m not sure if I forgive you, to be honest,” She said more clearly.

“Fine with me.”

“..I hope you go back to how you used to be when you and Ramona just met,” Cerise asked of him. “She told me stories, and I think you used to be a cool guy. Maybe you should stop listening to your brother. You’re better off like that.”

That was the last thing Cerise ever said to Leo, now turning away and leaving him to his own thoughts. She couldn’t care about Leo now, or ever from this point on. He had finally stopped being a problem, and Cerise couldn’t be more happy about it. But she was honest when she had told him to go back to being himself, again. He deserved some growth.

“Ramona!”

Ramona excitedly reached her arms out for an approaching Justine, and once in her embrace, Ramona couldn’t help but kiss her girlfriend lovingly, meaning that Ramona ditched Cerise, and maybe that was for the best right now.

The soft glow of the golden trophy was in the corner of her eye, and she turned to see Daring hold it, the proudest smile coming from Daring when he saw her once more.

“It’s all thanks to you, Cerise,” He said, putting the trophy down. “We won this because you were brave enough to reveal your secret. I.. I’m really happy you felt confident to do that.”

“Well, I couldn’t have been able to do that without your help, either,” She smiled.

The tense silence came between them. Cerise took a deep breath.

“I thought about what you said before the game and I couldn’t just leave you without an answer when you said all those nice things. I wasn’t angry with you at all yesterday, it’s complicated to explain right now,” She chuckled. “But the truth is, I.. I really like you, too. You said you want me to be happy, and I’m happy when I’m with you.”

“Really?!” Daring couldn’t hide that dorkish, cute smile. “So, you’d like to go out sometime?”

Cerise laughed and stretched just a little higher, her arms wrapping around his neck and their lips finally meeting. It had felt like a dream come true, and Cerise had only now realized that this was what she wanted ever since their first dance. She was in love with him, and it was so thrilling to say that he loved her, too. Cerise slowly pulled away to give him an answer.

“I’d love to.”

Daring grinned from ear to ear, happy to hear her answer, when he was pushed away by none other than Ramona.

“Okay, you’re done here! I saw this coming from thirty miles away, and now I’m bored of it!”

“Do you have to be so annoying?!” Cerise whined.  
“Kinda my job, yeah.”

Cerise rolled her eyes, and Ramona laughed at that. Cerise now knew she would never have to separate herself from her sister again, and they could hang out whenever they wanted. Cerise would finally get to have her ears out in public. And best of all, their family wasn’t going to get hurt for it.

The sisters shared a matching look of determination, and howled to the full moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some wolf: dude do you have any idea wtf is going on  
> some other wolf: nah fam i just came to watch a bookball game


	17. epilogue

The day they revealed their secret had felt so long ago, but now that Cerise and Ramona were out having a picnic in the Enchanted Forest, it had just crossed her mind. It was just days away before graduation, and to get away from all of the hustle going on between the fourth years, it felt right to have a little picnic.

“Come on!” Cerise argued. “Just one double date is all I’m asking for!”

“Nope, not happening,” Ramona chuckled. “Bleach is expensive, Red.”

They can’t help but poke fun at things that were meant to be embarrassing, and Cerise had so much trouble comparing their bond from now to when they were arguing back and forth last year. It was amazing how much they’ve grown.

“So, when do I schedule Martina to piece your ears?”

“I am NOT piercing my ears,” Cerise laughed.

“Oh, come on! We did not make such a big deal about your ears just for you to keep them natural. Do you know how cute hoops would look on you?”

“If I wanted earrings, I’d put clip-ons.”  
“Ew, they’re not the same.”

Cerise giggled at her sister’s antics as she sat on the hill, her fingers getting the feel of the warm and damp grass underneath her, the coolness of the earth. The sun was beginning to set and the sky was bleeding red, and the wolf girls sat and watched the beauty of it all, not remembering the last time they got to enjoy nature like this. 

“Red?” She heard Ramona call out.

“What’s up?”

“Do you think things would’ve been different if we followed our destinies?”

Cerise sighed. She thought about it once or twice. What would’ve happened, anyway? There was no way Ramona was actually going to eat Cerise, right? Or.. the other way around, considering.

“And I don’t mean the way we thought we would. I mean the way we were meant to. Me in a hood and you as Big Bad. We could’ve been,” Ramona let out a small chuckle. “ _Very_ different people if we knew who we were from the beginning.”

Cerise’s eyes widened at that. Cerise could never imagine Ramona being shy and quiet, or could imagine herself being rude and stubborn. Ramona Hood and Cerise Badwolf. Did it really have the same ring as their original names?

 _No,_ Cerise told herself. Because their original names are Ramona Wolf-Hood and Cerise Hood-Wolf. And that was a billion times better than any other name Cerise could be given.

“I like to think that we could’ve played both roles and be like both our parents,” Cerise commented.

“In what world?”

“The one right now.”

Ramona’s lips curled into a smile.

“Yeah, I like that.”

Cerise smiled, but a strange emotion overwhelmed her. Guilt? She could feel her mouth forming into a frown, and her eyes starting to water. What was this? Ramona noticed this immediately.

“Red, are you good?”

“I’m.. I’m sorry..? I just feel like I have to apologize..” Her voice trembled and she felt heavy before collapsing into Ramona’s side.

Ramona held Cerise tightly in that bear hug style she used to give Cerise when they were little. Cerise hadn't felt an honest hug from her sister in years.

“Apologize for what?”

“I just can’t believe that I used to give you such a hard time back then when I had no idea how bad things were when you left that school.”

“Red, that’s a stupid reason to apologize. You couldn’t have known better. Wasn’t I the one giving you a hard time? I knew everything going on in your life, and I just liked to make things difficult for you. Don’t you think I should be the one apologizing?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be the Big Bad Wolf?” Cerise asked.

“Aren’t I supposed to be your sister?”

Cerise stayed quiet.

“I’m sorry, too, I guess. I don’t apologize, I’m terrible at this. Man, look what you did!” 

Ramona lightly jabbed Cerise in the shoulder causing Cerise to laugh and pull away from Ramona’s hug.

“Sorry for what?” Cerise teased.

“I don’t know, being a bigger bitch. And.. not telling you stuff that you deserved to hear. Isn’t that why you were mad at me? Cause I wasn’t talking to you enough?”

“I mean, yeah. But can I really blame you? We weren’t exactly super close when you left. And what with how we had to act like enemies and say bad stuff about each other, it didn’t really help build our relationship.”

Ramona shrugged, her eyes gazing back at the sun.

“Then I’m apologizing because I let the circumstances stop me from showing you off as my sister.”

Cerise smiled as she leaned into her sister’s shoulder.

“I can work with that apology.”

There was a comfortable silence after that. They just enjoyed the positive and relaxing energy between them, and for once, they felt like they were in control. In control of themselves, their surroundings, and more importantly, their _destinies._ Even if destiny somehow came back to kick them in the ass, the sisters had each other and that’s all that mattered.

It had been two years before Cerise had got her sister back, and then it had been almost another year before Cerise _truly_ got her sister back. There was a big difference. When they first spoke again, Cerise still felt disconnected to Ramona, but now, it really did feel like they were best friends, and it did feel like those two years of waiting might have just been worth it. 

“Okay, but did you at least consider the hoops?” Ramona asked.

“I am not getting my ears pierced!”

“Hmm, let me ask my mirrorphone if it doesn’t violate the Health Act to pierce an ear with a claw.”

“Ramona!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y’all have no idea how much I cried writing these last two chapters because I was so sad that I’m going to let this fic go :’) , I had started developing this story all the way back in April this year, and I used to think “Is this just something I’m doing because I have no time? Do I actually want to publish this?” and fast forward to now where every time I see a new Kudos or a new comment, I can’t help but get all giddy and jump for joy because people like reading my work :)
> 
> I’ve loved Ramona and Cerise since I first laid eyes on them and I’m so happy that I could do something like this for them, I miss these two so much. I want Ever After High to come back so badly, or at least get to see them one more time.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, liking, and commenting! I’d be nowhere without your support!


End file.
